Professional Services in Manassas Park

With vibrant specimens and detailed instruction, Petals for the People assists floral fans in creating their own fetching arrangements. Each customer will receive a bundle of seasonal flowers and greens that can be grouped into two or three arrangements, as well as access to helpful online instruction that can mold nature’s colorful flair into eye-catching bouquets. While many grocery stores stock flowers on the shelf for an extended period of time, Petals for the People collects the freshest and most intriguing flowers from the U.S., South America, Holland, and Thailand and ships them directly to the customer from its warehouse. The resulting product is a striking and long-lasting arrangement that’s sure to spruce up any home, office, or captain’s quarters on a circumnavigating carrack.

Glamour Shots specializes in complete photography sessions in which subjects receive makeovers and in-depth consultations on their shoots to help their best face to shine in front of the camera. Upon arriving at the studio, subjects undergo hairstyling and an airbrush makeup application before donning a series of their own outfits during boudoir or traditional photo shoots. Image designers can retouch snapshots afterward, and client favorites can shine in lab-produced prints or on digital CDs.

While the fraternity brethren milled about parties discussing Jack Kerouac and sipping cheap lagers, Jack Counts was busy working. In the late 60s, the entrepreneurial college student carved out a niche snapping his shutter during fraternity parties and selling prints dubbed Party Pics to members. Over time, Counts spread his business across multiple campuses, photographing graduation ceremonies and special events and processing the prints in his own lab, Candid Color Systems. With Glamour Shots, Counts’ business yet again expanded from special-events photography to include portrait shoots with an emphasis on flattering female subjects.

At each Glamour Shots shoot, a brigade of expert shutterbugs and cosmetologists gets subjects ready for their close-ups with style-enhancing makeovers and photo shoots that result in high-quality pictures and prints. After a personal consultation with the styling team, clients undergo an airbrushing treatment and hair sculpting. Depending on their package, models strike up to 30 poses, quick-changing into different outfits to capture a spectrum of looks, from professional career woman to professional career woman in a bear costume.

Clients pour over proofs immediately after their session, and a professional lab generates each print on quality Kodak paper within 10 to 12 days after the session, with touchup services available to display pristine complexions. Shots are available in a variety of product forms, including prints, calendars, photo books, and canvas wraps. To ensure that none of the photos evaporates from living memory, a slideshow presentation houses the proofs of the entire day's shoot and sets it to music or field recordings of yaks performing Beethoven.

For more than 100 years, United Parcel Service's recognizable brown trucks have been showing up on doorsteps in a timely fashion. Founded in 1907 as a messenger company, UPS has grown into a multibillion-dollar corporation by enabling commerce to travel the globe. Now the world's largest package-delivery company and a recognized name in specialized transportation and logistics services, UPS's legions manage the flow of goods, funds, and grandmas' cookies in more than 200 countries. The UPS Store's obliging staff and reputation for reliable package conveyance attracts all types of packers, shippers, and printers. Packers regularly stop in for masking-tape rolls and other do-it-yourself supplies. Alternatively, senders can enlist the skillful packing of the store's staffers, who will deftly seal boxes and cushion contents with bubble wrap or styrofoam peanut-butter sandwiches. In addition to packaging services and supplies, UPS Stores proffer printing services for large-quantity flyer makers and mailbox rentals for lazy messenger pigeons. Each independently owned location abides by the company's rigorous cargo standards and solemn Pack & Ship Promise.

A&I Books prints photographs onto mirrors using advanced printing technology, giving UV-protected images a reflective canvas on which to play. After selecting a favorite family snapshot or pet rock self-portrait, shutterbugs upload .JPEG or .TIFF files to A&I's Mirrorprint site. Technicians then use the HP Scitex 500 to emboss images onto looking glasses, treating each print with UV light to ensure long-lasting color. Darkroom-dynamos perform color and density correction to enhance images and remove errant bunny fingers. Once the process is complete, photos emerge strikingly framed and supported by uncovered reflective glass. Transparent memories sail to doorsteps within five business days.

Gallery owner Jeph DeLorme and his shutter-savvy team believe different photography genres deserve distinctive styles and approaches. The team divides its shoots into nine categories, which range from family portraits to boudoir shoots, creating a house style to match the mood of each.

Perhaps the most traditional, family portraits choreograph action, props, and settings to reflect each subject's personality. Other styles daringly use props and photo editing to create hyper-stylized images that seem to draw influence from film, comic books, fashion magazines, and the dreams of Nostradamus. "Not-so-retro" pinups, for example, mingle old-style pinup fashions such as garters and cascading curls with dramatic backgrounds or sexy props that exude modern confidence. Shutterbugs work out of a 2,000-square-foot studio or travel to meet clients on location, often in a sunny park or a symbolic carpool lane.