Launch Day 4 • Business Spotlight: Beanpress Cards

Sarah Gray Photography Website Launch, Tallahassee, Florida Business Spotlight

Beanpress Cards was named after owner, Selena’s, two boys. When she was expecting them and didn’t yet know their genders, she called them “beans.” From it’s very roots, Beanpress Cards has the heart of motherhood stamped all over it. They were a natural partner for Sarah Gray Photography from the beginning. more on that here…
(Instructions for entering the giveaway are in the Rafflecopter box at the end of this post as well as a discount code to the Beanpress shop just for Sarah Gray Photography readers).

Selena started her business almost 6 years ago when her second son was about six months old. Like many artists, she needed a creative outlet. In those early days, a mutual friend of ours (who happens to be another vendor we’ll be highlighting tomorrow) connected us and suggested we collaborate. It has been a match made in heaven as Selina has used my photos on her sample card designs in her shop (always with my clients model release).

Sarah Gray Photography Website Launch, Tallahassee, Florida Business Spotlight

A Florida native, Selena and her family made the move this past July to a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina when her husband was transferred for work. Even through the move her shop continues to produce beautiful, fresh card designs.  Beanpress Cards on Etsy has just over 2200 sales. When you take a look at it, it’s easy to see why. Her designs are fun, and she’s always adding new ones.

Sarah Gray Photography Website Launch, Tallahassee, Florida Business Spotlight

Sarah Gray Photography Website Launch, Tallahassee, Florida Business Spotlight

Her valentine cards are my favorites. We’ve used them for my girls the last several years and they’ve always been a hit. Selena also designs custom cards for my clients holiday cards each year when they purchase through me. She’s incredible to work with and is quick to turn orders around. I could spend hours looking at her birth announcement designs… but then again, I’m kind of partial to newborn babies.

Selena is generously participating in the week of giveaways to help promote the relaunch and refresh of my website and is giving away a personalized stationary set of 20 notecards and a matching notepad. It is adorable! I may need to order one for myself.

Sarah Gray Photography Website Launch, Tallahassee, Florida Business Spotlight

She is also extending her generosity to my readers with a 20% off discount code to be used on a digital purchase through the month of February (excludes printed cards). This is perfect for those valentine cards you may still need to order. She’s able to fulfill Valentine orders up until the day before Valentine’s day (ALL THE PRAISE HANDS). Use code SARAHGRAY20 when you checkout with your digital order in her Etsy shop.

To enter the giveaway, follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter box below and we’ll announce the winner on Sunday.  Best of luck to you!!

If you don’t already, like my photography page so you don’t miss out on the upcoming giveaways the rest of this week from other amazing Tallahassee loving businesses. There is more to come!

Be sure to check out the other three businesses participating in this week of giveaways who have already been featured. Their giveaways are still active for entering!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

We finally hung curtains in our house.

I'd been putting it off for months. Every time I thought about it, I talked myself out of it - we'd just redone so many walls and the last thing I wanted was more holes. But once we actually did it, the blackout curtains went up, we started sleeping so much better, and I felt silly for waiting as long as I did.

And then I thought about all the people sitting on booking a photography session for basically the same reason.

The process feels like a lot until it isn't. And then you wonder why you waited.

If you've been meaning to reach out and just keep not doing it - hi. The link is at sarahgray.com/contact. It takes two minutes and that's the hardest part.
Can we talk about the matching family photo?

I'm not against it in principle. I've seen it work. But I'll be honest with you: identical outfits can flatten the individuality of each person in the frame. Everyone ends up looking like a set instead of a family.

What I always encourage is coordinated, not matching.

Cohesion without uniformity. Everyone looks like they belong in the same photo - but each person still looks like themselves. Mom isn't dressed like a grown up version of her daughter. Dad doesn't look like he raided his son's closet.

The goal is harmony, not a uniform.

A few ways to pull this off without overthinking it: start with one anchor piece - usually mom's outfit - and build the palette outward from there. Repeat one or two colors across the group without repeating the exact same clothing. Let textures and silhouettes vary.

The result is a family photo that actually looks like your family.
It's the night before your session.

You've had weeks to plan this. Weeks. And yet here you are, every piece of clothing you own spread across the bed, asking your partner if navy and olive 'go together' and Googling 'what to wear for family photos' at 10:47pm.

Completely normal. You are not alone. I have heard this story more times than I can count, and it almost always has a happy ending.

But if you're in the planning phase right now and not yet in the panic phase - this is your sign to take thirty minutes this week and actually sort it out. Future you will be so relieved.

And if you're my client, you have a lot of info at your fingertips in the Prep Guide sent to you when you booked with me.
Here's the framework I share with every family I work with:

The location is the canvas. Your family is the subject. Your clothing is the paint.

Get the paint right, and everything comes together. Rush it, and even a beautiful Tallahassee evening can fall a little flat in the final images.

That doesn't mean you need a stylist or a big budget. It means you need a plan and a few principles that actually hold up in real life - with real kids and real closets.

Start with a neutral base. Creams, tans, soft whites, warm grays. These anchor your palette and keep the focus on faces and connection, which is the whole point.

From there, bring in color intentionally. Neutrals with soft blues. Neutrals with blush or sage. Warmer tones in fall - mauve, khaki, olive - especially at a location like Alford Park, where the foliage does a lot of work for you.

Add texture wherever you can. A knit next to a satin blouse. A linen shirt next to a tweed jacket. Texture creates visual depth in a way that flat, solid fabrics just don't. It's one of those things that reads beautifully in prints and most families don't hear about until someone tells them.

Keep patterns small if you use them at all. A delicate floral, a fine stripe, a subtle check - all great. Large, bold patterns pull focus away from faces, and that's never what we're going for.

Outfit planning is one of the highest-leverage things you can do before your session. I promise it's worth the attention.

Memberships and Affiliations

Sarah Gray Photography | Professional Photographer of America Member
Sarah Gray Photography | The Motherhood Anthology Member
National Association of Professional Child Photographers Member 2026-2027

Sarah Gray creates timeless and joyful images that are designed for living room walls and photo albums. A tallahassee photographer, Sarah Gray also serves Thomasville, Crawfordville, St. Marks, Gainesville and throughout the Forgotten Coast and panhandle of north Florida and south Georgia.

email us | sarah@sarahgray.com

telephone (850) 328-3258

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located in tallahassee, florida