Blogity Blog

My Son

2011-06-05T20:45:00.001-07:00

Finally got his grad cards done!

Not my best image, in fact it was taken tonight while we had friends over to have cake with us. But I love it, and I love him!

2011 Seniors

2011-04-14T22:15:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to all of the seniors graduating this year! I hope to someday soon be putting up my own son's announcement picture here, however right now he's resting in his bed after having surgery on his ankle he broke this wrestling season. As soon as it's warm enough and he's up and about I hope to at least get a good head shot for his announcements!

Jensportraits.com For Sale

2011-01-08T14:50:00.001-08:00

I've decided to put JensPortraits.com and the current Blu Domain template with it, up for sale, if you know anyone who is interested, send them my way, especially if her name is Jen!

Mark

2010-10-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Saturday I meet up with Mark and his mom at their home for his Senior session. It was fun shooting for a guy that has so many interests, it makes it more fun when we can add in some of those interests into the session. I couldn't wait to play with a couple for a sneak peek.
We finished the session off at Long Lake Regional Park, my most favorite park to shoot at.
Congratulations Mark on your upcoming graduation, I know we are going to see great things from you! Hope you enjoy your sneak peek.

Lindsey!

2010-09-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

This one is just for you! :)
I met Lindsey when she was maybe 7? She and my oldest son were the only two kids in their primary class. She was always so nice to him and I always appreciated that, since he was the new kid at church, and a yucky boy.
Today she's adorably grown up and finishing up her last year in High School. I was so thrilled when her mom contacted me to do her portrait session, and even more thrilled when they said they could work around my crazy new schedule. Thanks for being willing to wait!
I know it's hard to wait, especially for something so important, so Lindsey I'm not making you wait much longer for a fun sneak peek, more to come in your gallery! I hope you enjoy your last year of High School!

I'd rather be photographing...

2010-07-23T19:39:00.000-07:00

I have had to turn down several customers the last couple of weeks. That's been painful for me to do. I won't be taking any new customers until late September, other than those I already have on the books. I really wish I could keep doing photography as much as before, but as my schedule changes, so does the time I have to do the more fun things in my life, like photographing you!

I do have several friends who are in the business, so if I can't accommodate you, I can whole heartedly recommend several people that could possibly work for your needs.

But before I go I thought I would share one more favorite from the last wedding...

Rain is good luck!

2010-06-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I was privileged to be Hailey and Eric's Photographer for their wedding day. I met up with Hailey in the morning where she had her hair and make-up done at La Grande Salon and Spa on Forest Lake. Her hair was done beautifully in a 1930's sexy wave on one side and pulled back with a flower on the other side.
As I made my way from La Grande to where the ceremony was going to be held, a beautiful 10 acre farm Hailey's parents have, it began to rain and continued to rain all the way up until the bride met her groom at the end of the isle. Miraculously it stopped and the rest of the evening was wonderful!
Here's a sneak peek for the bride and groom, enjoy!

Eric and his brothers- this shot was their idea, love it!

Hailey has the cutest nephew who was a great sport through the day's activities-

One of Hailey's childhood dreams was to arrive at her wedding in a horse drawn carriage. Her uncle was able to help fulfill that dream with his beautiful carriage and Fjord horse.

Oh, and I have to mention, her hair held out beautifully through all that rain!

I hope you love your sneak peek Hailey and Eric!

Enjoy this summer!

2010-06-10T12:42:00.000-07:00

A few more to share...

2010-06-05T15:13:00.001-07:00

from Ellie's session... She's such a pretty girl!

I thought I'd give this one a 70's summery twist, it's also available in color, but sometimes it's fun to mix stuff up!

I heart this little girl!

2010-06-04T15:59:00.000-07:00

I am so happy to know this kid. Ellie is an amazing little girl who also is a heart surgery surviver! She is strong and fun and has the most beautiful blue eyes that are the same shade as her mommy's. Recently she began walking while holding her parents hands, that's a BIG milestone! YAY!
I met up with her and her parents Erin and Matt for a session at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton. Thanks guys for the fun session! I can't wait to show you the rest of your gallery!

You might remember this from Ellie's newborn session. It's one of my all time favorites.

After the park we went back to her house for an updated version, she loves to play the keys and look at her reflection in the piano. And oh my gosh, is that ponytail ever so cute?!

Reflections

2010-05-14T14:11:00.000-07:00

I've always been an artistic person, at different times in my life expressing myself through drawing, oil painting, writing or photography. And now I'm even contemplating a beginning guitar class while I'm at school!

As the time for me to begin school comes close I find myself often getting lost in my thoughts. I've felt a heavy heart because I realize that with my new journey into the scholarly environment, as exciting as it is, comes the journey where I will no longer be walking hand in hand daily with my camera, but rather hoping for brief moments with it. (I've even thought about seeing if I could be a photographer for the school's newspaper.)

I've loved the challenges during my photography career, where I've had to stretch and grow and step out of my comfort zone. Who would have thought that photographing creatively the interior of an elevator, or finding dry spots on a wet wedding day, or trying to get 4 teen/pre-teen unhappy kids to smile, or getting 40 people together and shot in less than 10 minutes before dark could be so exhilarating?

My photography has been a very personal experience for me. Each wedding I shot, as I edited the images I captured of the couple's day, I've treasured their lives, their families and friends and the relationship they've shared with me. Each baby, I've loved. Each face, I've treasured. As I work on people's images, I gaze into their faces and they become someone I know, in some way. I see the lines in their faces, the curl of their smiles, the dimples in their chins or cheeks, the scars from years ago and I've gazed into their eyes. "The eyes are the window to the soul", and as I worked on images of people and gazed into their eyes, I've become acquainted with their souls.

I will miss the frequency of this type of connection with people that I've had, and will anticipate excitedly any sessions I can find time to do during my school year.

I've always had a love affair with words and learning. I admire those who write so eloquently and can draw me into their world, much like the way a photograph can make you feel like you've stepped into someone else's place in time. I love learning and growing and exploring new (to me) ideas and concepts.

I love being reinvented.

Although I am changing the direction my life is going, I know my love for photography will always remain with me and I will forever be taking my camera with me wherever I go. And when I am old and my mind is feeble and I can't do anything else, I will be happy if I am still able to lift a camera and move my finger .25 of an inch.

"When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." ~Ansel Adams

More Sneak Peek

2010-05-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I got a call from a senior who wanted to be brave and daring and do something different for her senior session. This year I was lucky enough to also shoot her brother's senior session, he didn't know he was going to have to also be daring and brave rainy weather for his session! Thanks for being a good sport!

I love when people bring something of themselves to their sessions, to make it uniquely theirs. Mitch brought his snowboard and his longboard skateboard.

I gave this one a little 70's processing twist.

By the end of the session the rain was coming down pretty good, you can see some of it in this shot. Good thing his hair style already had the wet look. :)

So, with a little bit of creativity, we got his session done despite the uncooperative weather and he has a whole bunch more than what you see here in his gallery that I will be putting up by tomorrow.

It was nice meeting you Mitch, I hope you have a great summer and congratulations on your graduation!

One From Tonight

2010-05-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

As I was loading tonight's Senior Session this one caught my eye and I decided to play with it before turning off the computer. Tonight I met up with Mitch for his Senior Session. This was our third attempt to get his images shot as the last two times had to be rescheduled. When I saw rain in the forecast for tonight I decided to be brave and go ahead, try his session anyway and if it was raining too much to head down to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds to see if we could find some dry spots to shoot. Wouldn't you know it, when we showed up there, the ground was dry, but the rain quickly followed us. I think we got a few really good shots and some fun ones to play with too, like this one of him with his snow board...

Thanks for being a great sport tonight Mitch and braving the weather! Hope it didn't take too long to warm up again.

One Last One

2010-05-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

This is my youngest daughter Joyanna enjoying her bike on the hill.

The images from these two posts are from the first time she's taken her bike down a hill ever. After the first time and she got to the bottom of the hill she excitedly began chatting about how the bike went all on it's own and she didn't even have to peddal!

Oh to be a kid again and enjoy the simple things in life, like gravity.

A couple of fun ones

2010-05-06T09:51:00.000-07:00

From the other day...

A few more to share...

2010-05-04T20:56:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

H & E {Engagement}

2010-05-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday I met H & E for their engagement session in down town Minneapolis. We first started out at a park near the Stone Arch Bridge. We visited the Guthrie Theatre which has an awesome red wall out front. I planned to use some of their poses at this wall for other images. And really, we were all over the place for the next two hours and found so many sweet spots for shots! I couldn't even begin to put a dent in their session editing today.
Here's the first few I have worked on so far...

These next two images I took in preparation for the last image..

H and E- thanks for the great session and I'm sure I'll have a few more to post(there's just too many to keep to myself!) as I work through them! I am so looking forward to your wedding in June! Hope you liked this peek!
P.S. I hope baby cooperates with you on Wednesday, drop me a line and share your good news!

2010-04-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I have a love-hate relationship with technology. I love being able to surf the Internet on my phone, keep up with Facebook posts of friends and family any time of day, the beauty in images I can bring out with my editing software, being able to communicate to anyone in the world at a moment's notice. But then there are the days when technology really grates on my last nerve. A Phone call while my hands are dug into meatloaf, a computer in a car going out, a memory card going corrupt during shooting a wedding and my computer shutting down on me numerous times while editing a session.
This last one happened to me this week. Maybe it's dust and over heating. It has been over two years since I've given it a good cleaning. My hairdryer can't take that kind of abuse, why do I expect my computer that runs almost the entire day long to?
Two years ago I had the mother of all panics when I was finishing up the last part of editing a gallery- the resizing for web, when my computer suddenly konked out on me! I was supposed to be meeting a newly married couple to view their wedding gallery for the first time the next day. Luckily I had backed up their images on a disk and was able to show them their gallery via laptop. My computer was never the same, and at that point I hadn't been using a separate external hard drive for backing up, and sadly I lost a lot of my own children's pictures. You know the saying, "The cobbler's children never have any shoes"? .... the photographer's children never have any prints. Now I'm very very ocd about backing up my work. I never want to lose my work, or my kids images again. Someday I will have them all printed and put into wonderful scrapbooks for them to treasure. Maybe someday after they are all grown.
In the meantime I'll continue to love technology, and some days despise it.

2010-04-23T14:27:00.001-07:00

Saturday was a beautiful day for a session! The weather was just wonderful, maybe a little too breezy, but beautiful.
I traveled down south of the Twin Cities and met up with the L. family. It was so cute to see little miss N waiting for me at the door! We did a few shots around in their yard and at the park across the road then later went over to Lebanon Hills Regional Park. I love using Regional Parks for sessions because of their variety of landscape and grassy hills.
Here's a little sneak peek for the L. family, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

2010-04-21T12:01:00.000-07:00

*click to see larger image

It was fun to see some of my work in print the other day. This image was taken last year one evening on the University of Minnesota campus. We had only a couple of minutes of light left that evening to take a few images. Part of this image was taken 20 minutes before the choir showed up. I'm so glad I took that one image, because I needed it and it turned out beautifully.

If you have time on April 30, May 1 or May 8 you should take the time to see this choir. They work so hard and the experience is like listening to angels. The April 30 performance is free.

2010-04-15T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I am excited to share the news that I will be beginning a new chapter in my life. My husband recently finished earning a Bachelor degree in Accounting and now it's my turn!
We are late bloomers :) but figure it is better late than never. Right?
I am going with the intent of earning a Bachelor degree in Special Education. I am very excited about this new adventure. But because I love photography and my clients so much I have decided to continue offering my photography services but on a very limited basis beginning in June 2010.
If you wish to hire me as your photographer please call as far in advance as possible so that I will be able to say "yes!" to your session.

Also today was the last day to get in on my Spring Special. Thanks to all of you who booked!

8 days left!

2010-04-07T16:45:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that I have a couple more openings for those wanting to take advantage of my Spring 20% off sale! Book within the next 8 days and receive 20% off your session and any prints you order from this session. Also, very rarely do I let discounts apply to Session Cd's but this time I am! Be sure to order it at the time of your session and also have your session fee waved! It's not often I offer a deal like this!

More Henry

2010-04-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of storyboards. I love having a collection of images in one 10x 20 inch print.

There's just something I love about using black backdrops that allows for no distractions and the color tones of my subjects to glow. Look how Mandy's eyes just sparkle!

Henry

2010-04-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

On Friday I was thrilled to meet Olivia's 14 day old little brother Henry. Olivia was one of my last sessions last fall before going on vacation, in case you recognize her cute little face.
I can tell that Henry is going to have no shortage of hands to take care of him, his big sister is already practicing patting his back, giving him cuddles and she's working on her reading so she can read to him someday.
Congratulations John, Mandy and Olivia on your beautiful addition! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek!

Mommy's Hands

Daddy's Hands

This was taken towards the end of the session. Henry had struggled to stay awake the whole time, finally he tuckered out and curled up around the spotted cow.

I just loved this one! While Mandy and Henry took a feeding break Olivia read her book to her "baby". I love seeing this family's love manifested in their child's actions.

Ta-Da!!!!

2010-03-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

The moment I saw these I knew I had to offer you them.

"What is it?", you ask? "It comes in a package of 3!" I tell you.

Well, actually I wouldn't ignore your question but I might be so excited about these that I can't wait to tell you about it.

These 3 inch square brag accordian books are an adorable way to display 8 of your favorite images from your session with me and they are so small you can easily carry them in your purse or briefcase.

Cover options include black, brown, and red "leathers"; black, tan, and chocolate fabrics; or a personalized custom photo cover. The covers are magnetized so if you have multiple books they stick together, and get this-

They stuck to the fridge for me!

These make great gifts for the extended family and are affordable enough you can keep one for yourself!

$40 per set of 3 books.
Personalized custom photo cover $10 extra per set.
Must purchase 3 identical books.

So Excited!

2010-03-25T18:53:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about a new product I am going to be offering! It's a big secret for a couple of days here while I wait for my studio sample to arrive so I can take pictures of it and tell you all about it! I just can't wait!!!
Check back soon, as the professional lab I use is so super quick and I'll have my sample in my hands and on my website in a very short time!

Seniors!

2010-03-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

Now is the time for 2010 Seniors to make sure they have prints for their graduation announcements and also 2011 Seniors to get their sessions booked!

Right now with my Spring Special it's never been easier to save on all the prints you want and need! You can also enjoy a savings of 20% off the disk (regularly $350) when you book a session before April 15 and have your session before June 1. And if you buy the disk at the time of your session I will wave the session fee! It's not often I discount the disk.

You can take this disk with your fully edited images to the print lab of your choice, design your own invitations and print out as many prints as you wish at their lab's prices!

Call now to book your session, available dates are limited!

651-633-6513

I'm back!

2010-03-04T17:07:00.001-08:00

Spring is just around the corner! To celebrate warmer weather

I am running a special that will warm you on the inside too!

If you book your spring session* before April 15th you can enjoy

a discount of 20% off your entire session and print purchase,

and for a limited time you can also use this discount on a session CD!

*Sessions need to be booked for before June 1, 2010

2010-02-22T20:01:00.000-08:00

My vacation is almost done! Contact me now to schedule your spring sessions or weddings.

I haven't been completely forgetful of my 365 blog! Check out the latest posts at 365 Days of Jen to see what I have shot during my time off.

Something else to check out!

2009-12-31T08:54:00.001-08:00

A couple of years ago when I was blogging a lot, many of my friends participated in weekly ritual blogging. I started my own, Thursday's Thumbs. I would post once a week about a product or item that I tried that week and give it a Thumbs Up! or Thumbs Down! based on my experience with it. I miss doing that so....
I did it! I opened up a blog dedicated to Thursday's Thumbs! Check it out http://thursdaysthumbs.blog.com/
I just wish I could find that picture I used back in the day when I first started doing TT.
Join me over there each Thursday as I rate products and items we've tried through that week! Also feel free to drop me any suggestions.
Want to try something but are too chicken? Tell me about it and I just might try it for you!

Vacation Extended

2009-12-30T15:27:00.001-08:00

I've decided to extend my vacation until the end of February. If you have a newborn and would like a session please feel free to contact me as I know time is of the essence when it comes to how fast they grow in the first weeks!
In the meantime to get your fill of Jen please visit my new project "365 Days of Jen" where I attempt to take and post at least one picture a day in the year 2010.

Happy New Year!

This makes me tear up

2009-12-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

I love how these turned out. They are so beautiful!

Just one more sneak peek for little Oliver and family before I finish up their gallery and head further into my vacation.

And join me on January 1st as I begin my own 365 day project of photography at 365 Days of Jen

Oliver

2009-12-21T17:19:00.001-08:00

Ohhhh, this little boy is such a sweetie! Sadly, we had to reschedule his session twice in the last few weeks due to illness in my family, and I think the third time was a charm! He was so sweet and let us do so much with him. Here are just a few images that I played with while emptying my memory cards to my hard drive. I'm sure I'm going to have more to share later!
Hope you enjoy your sneak peek Shayne and Max! Happy Holidays!

Kristy and Marshall

2009-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

Celebrated their one year wedding anniversary last month. Congratulations you two!
Kristy had asked me to take a large family portrait of Marshall's family last Friday, but then we also took some time to take a few of just them before meeting up with the rest of the family.

These two look so classic in black and white.

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

And check out these red hawt boots Kristy wore! I love them!

I have to say that posting this last image on the web does not do it justice. Something changes when it gets resized and displayed on the web that takes from it's glow. This is an image that begs to be printed BIG.

Winter Vacation

2009-11-17T13:08:00.001-08:00

Brothers

2009-11-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

This could possibly be my most favorite storyboard ever!

Jen's Family

2009-11-13T15:27:00.000-08:00

On Monday I'd called Jen, because we had a session scheduled for her two boys, and was delighted to hear her husband answer the phone which meant it was going to be a family session instead. They got to the park just as the sun was setting, so we hurried and did a few poses we knew we wanted and had enough time to get some fun shots in at a couple of locations.

I also wanted to mention that her youngest son was one of my first newborns I photographed... time moves on too fast.

Crafty me

2009-11-11T21:34:00.000-08:00

I did something for me today! :) YAY!
I've been dying to get my hands on a cute cover for my camera strap. Today I decided to spend a little of the money I made doing sessions on one, but as I looked, I couldn't find one I really wanted to plunk 20 bucks down on (well maybe one). But then I remembered one of my friends showing me a link to a tutorial making one. "I can do that!" I thought. So I googled "camera strap tutorial" and found one that looked simple enough for me. I have some material I wanted to use but ended up running to the fabric store for complimentary prints to go with them. I'd also found (while looking for camera straps) a pattern for a super cute purse that I decided to buy material for and try to make. While I was there I saw that a bunch of things I'd been coveting for years were on sale and even some on clearance! Whoopie!!!
So here is my first strap I made. It's made out of flannel that has a pink and green butterfly print with 70's style designs. I love it! It also grips my shoulder better than I thought it would. It also has padding on it so I hope that it will be both comfortable and absorbent on the days I'm working a hot session!

I wish

2009-11-11T15:11:00.000-08:00

I had a better way to show my beautiful images than this blog or my website. So often the images I work on look so beautiful in my Photoshop and then once I resize them and sharpen them for the web they somehow lose their lustre.
This is one of those examples. I love how this looked in Photoshop, but now uploaded to my blog it doesn't look right.
I love creating storyboards for my clients. Usually I create one to go in your gallery, but if I haven't and you'd like one made feel free to contact me and I'll get one put together for you!
They are 10 x 20 inches. You can find frames for them at just about any store. They usually come with a mat inside and 3 holes for 4x6 or 5x7 images. You just take the mat out and slip in your print and voila!

Koch Family

2009-11-09T10:41:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I met up with the Koch family at Long Lake Regional Park for a family session. It was a warm sunny day but we had quite the wind going which made it a little trickier to get some non-windy hair shots. I love the colors they chose to wear, it's warm and adds to the feeling of the richness of fall and unity of family.
Hope you like your sneak peek!

Samuel

2009-11-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Awww, look at this cute little guy! Samuel was 7 days old when I visited him to shoot some product images. These are the beautiful baby cocoons that Laura Michels makes. They are so soft and warm and cozy! Samuel's mom said at the beginning of the session she wasn't sure how he would do because he hates to be naked, but once we got him into one of these things and his mom cuddled him for a minute he was warm and snuggled and content and stayed that way the whole time he was in there. He loved it!
Congratulations Katie and thanks for letting us use your adorable little guy!
Check here to see Laura's other items!

Reminder

2009-10-30T20:48:00.001-07:00

December 2 is the last day to order prints in time for Christmas.

I'm back!

2009-10-24T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm back from two days of time out for me! Thank you for your patience to those who are still waiting for the completion of your galleries. I plan to have them all up and ready for your viewing pleasure by the end of Monday.
Amazing what two days out with 2,500 of your sisters will do!

Christmas is just around the corner!

2009-10-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

There are only a few short weeks left to get your outdoor session done in time to have prints for Christmas!
At this time of season expect your session's gallery to be up in two week's time and once prints are ordered and paid for at least another 3 days. Prints are only sent out for printing after they are paid for.
So if you are on the fence or playing with the idea of having a session done for holiday cards, don't take too long!

Olivia

2009-10-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday I was so happy to see the sun shine because I had Olivia's session that afternoon and we'd already had to reschedule once due to weather. This session was to celebrate her 3rd birthday. Isn't she so adoreable?! I just love those dimples and blue eyes.
Pretty soon she is going to be a big sister and I can tell by how sweet she is with her baby doll that she is going to be great!
Hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

2009-10-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

Private Photography Lessons

Thinking of buying an SLR this holiday season?

Did you get one last year and have yet to take it off it's auto settings?

Wanting private lessons to show you how to make the most of your camera

and your images?

I have only a few openings this winter for private lessons instructing you how to use your new,

or not so new, SLR camera. If you register before December 25, save 25% off!

Three two hour sessions ~~$240~~ $180*.

Makes a great gift!

email me at Lessons@jensportraits.com to request a registration form.

*50% due at registration, other 50% due at the first lesson.

Amanda

2009-10-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was so happy when I got an email from Amanda's mom asking me about doing her senior portraits! We scheduled them for Friday afternoon, and through a turn of events ended up shooting earlier in the day than first planned. It was a good thing too, because by the time we finished up at Minnehaha Falls the rain moved in. It was about a half hour before her session was first scheduled to begin.
I hope you like your sneak peek Amanda, and have a great senior year!

Happy Birthday!

2009-10-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today I was so super lucky to get to photography JJ for his first birthday! JJ has overcome so many obstacles in his short little life and it's a miraculous thing that he was home in time to celebrate his first birthday with his family. His family and their experiences in the last two years of having two babies with HLH have touched so many lives, including mine. I'm thrilled to be showing this sneak peek! I hope you like these Laura.
Happy Birthday little guy!

Before the snow came

2009-10-12T15:02:00.000-07:00

On Friday I had scheduled a session with my friend Amy and her family. We were getting a little nervous because of weather reports. It was cold and snow was on the way! After going back and forth on whether to go through with it or not we finally decided to try it and if it didn't work out to try it again another day. I don't think we'll have to do any retakes, I'm loving these shots and I hope you do to Amy!

More Abby

2009-10-04T21:37:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple more from Abby's gallery to share before I finish it up.
I've had a cold for the last couple of days that has knocked me out, so sorry Abby that your gallery is a couple of days latter than planned!

She has a funny sense of humor and asked me to take this shot to share with all her friends...

This last image, I felt, needed something different. At the time the shot was taken the sun was nearly down and it was getting dark. The original image is cold and I really wanted to warm it up and add some sunshine into it so here are the after, and then the sooc (straight out of camera). I love how it turned out!

Storyboards

2009-10-01T10:43:00.000-07:00

I love making storyboards. I create one for almost every session I do because they are so fun to create. I usually use three of my favorite images and add a little saying at the bottom or a name or year. They end up being 10x20 inches and fit into a standard frame that usually comes with a mat for three 5x7s. You take the mat out to frame these wonderful storyboards.
Here's one I created for Kendall and her First Birthday Session.

Minnesota Mormon Chorale

2009-09-28T20:29:00.000-07:00

This is just the first of many images to come off my desk for the MMC.
These were taken on the University of Minnesota grounds in front of the Northrop building at sunset. We only had about 10 minutes to really get anything shot. The first and most important of the images was the big group image.
This image is actually a combination of several images. One is an image taken of the location about 30 minutes before the choir showed up, as the sun was still up. I also had to move a couple of heads around so that people could be seen, so I took their heads from subsequent shots and relocated them into this picture.
I love Photoshop!

A few more

2009-09-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more from Bethan's session that I loved... Hope you enjoy your gallery, Bethan!

One Last Image to Share

2009-09-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

before I wrap up their gallery...
I adore this one!

Ok... I'm weak... one more... but really, this is it!

Josh and Paige

2009-09-22T11:34:00.001-07:00

Here's another sneak peek for Josh and Paige from their wedding day... love the celebration!!!

Abby

2009-09-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday evening I had the pleasure of meeting up with Abby, her mom and sister at Long Lake Regional Park in New Brighton for her senior session. Abby is an accomplished cellist and brought along her cello for some images. This was super fun for me as I love doing new things and making each person's image unique! I just love her green eyes and freckled cheeks!
It was delightful to meet you Abby and family. I hope you enjoy your sneak peek and your senior year!

Kendall turns 1!

2009-09-19T19:11:00.000-07:00

This is Kendall, you might remember her from January's baby contest. She was the winner of that contest which gave her a free session and 10x20 storyboard.
We met up for her session at Central Park in Roseville. It was a beautiful day and Kendall was much more happy about this session than she was her last session.
I just LOVE those dimples!
Happy birthday Kendall, I hope you like your sneak peek!

Kendall's winning image:

Truck Ride

2009-09-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago when I was at a family session they had this idea to pile all of the little grandkids into the back of the uncle's truck. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this image because the truck was parked on the side of the road, and there was a lot of clutter in the background like telephone wires and cars, etc.
This isn't the final version, I'm still looking for the right scenery, but this is a play I came up with today that I thought looked fun, the only problem is that we don't have mountains here in Minnesota. I'll post the final version when it's done.

P.S. If you take six kids on a road trip, better to use car seats ;)

Senior Sneak Peek!

2009-09-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

I was really excited when "B" called me for her senior session. I've know her and her awesome family for about four or five years. I can't believe she's a senior already!
We met at a local school that had a great walking path and nature all around. "B" plays the most beautiful blue guitar I've ever seen. She's developed that talent very well! And it doesn't hurt that her guitar matches her pretty blue eyes.

Every once in a while I like to play around with colorizing, textures and brushes. I thought this was a good image to play around with a texture called "Cracks" by Johnny Magnoski. It's of a cement walkway, but I erased out the cracks in it and added some love letter brushes, which are the words you see in the background. I also added yellow toning to give a sunshine effect. I think I like how it turned out.

I also loved the fields we used, the colors of the grasses and wild flowers.

These are just a few images I played with while uploading her session to my computer. I hope you enjoyed your sneak peek "B" and can't wait to show you the rest of your gallery!

Family

2009-08-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

Who ever said, "The love of a family is life's greatest blessing", surely said it right.
This is Ann and D.L. and their ever growing beautiful family out on the beach rocks outside of the home they more recently have built.

and a couple of cute little shots I got that evening of one of their grandsons.

Don't box me in!

2009-08-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Put me in a little box and see what I will do! These are some of my images from a job I had today taking images of the inside of several elevator cabs, that a company makes, for their new website. The lady making the website for them has agreed to barter with me for my images, and design me a smashing new website for my wedding line.
We had so much fun doing this, the biggest kicker was when people would go to get on the elevator, to watch their reactions. I found it super amusing when people would try to ignore us, as if they see a photo studio set up in the elevator every day.
Thanks for the fun job Tina!

Josh and Paige

2009-08-15T19:02:00.000-07:00

Today I was delighted to join Josh and Paige on their wedding day at the Saint Paul LDS Temple. The day was overcast, but that didn't put a damper on the bright colors of the day!
Congratulations on your wedding and I wish you many years of happiness! I hope you enjoy your sneak peek!

Good News!

2009-08-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Rachel, I got a cute one and I didn't even have to clone around any heads! :)

2009-08-11T14:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I like to play with images and try new things out on them, new looks, new texture, etc. Today I wanted to do something special with this image, but everything I tried didn't look right. Then I decided to try the Midnight Sepia action I have and there it was, what I was looking for.
I am actually excited about how it turned out.
It kind of reminds me of a mix of Greg Olson and Liz Lemmon Swindle look, only in a photograph instead.

Hill Family Reunion

2009-08-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I spent some time at the Hill Family Reunion held in New Brighton Minnesota and what fun it was to meet the extended family of one of my favorite families. Thank you Erin and Matt for having me out to photograph your family!

Matt organized Erin's family to spell Hill on their back lawn, which incidentally was a hill as well!
I had to somewhat manipulate this image to fit for a 10x20 storyboard frame, and I think it kind of looks funny how the porportions ended up, but it's grown on me.

Some of Erin's neices and nephew.

Beautiful Erin and her dad... I LOVE this picture.

60 Years

2009-08-06T10:33:00.001-07:00

Not many people get to watch their parents celebrate a
60th wedding anniversary, but these lucky people did!
A dinner was held in their honor at the Pool and Yacht Club in Lilydale, Minnesota.

Awwwww... still in love. <3

Two of their beautiful great-grandchildren.

Congratulations on your anniversary and on your beautiful family.
I had to add this one last image, I just ADORE it!

A twist on an old favorite

2009-08-01T12:45:00.001-07:00

I, personally, love the hands holding baby's head shots. Usually I do this shot with mom's hands, but during this session dad was really wanting to have some shots with his son, and was willing to do whatever.
I love this shot. A strong daddy's hands holding his tiny newborn's head tenderly in his palms.

I love the look of black and white with the black backdrop that was used in this session, but mom and dad will get the option of color as well.

Introducing...

2009-07-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

Will. Who's been long awaited for! I love it when parents want to be creative and make their sessions unique! Thanks D Family for letting me be the lucky photographer you chose for Will's first session and for wanting to play!

Fun Stuff!

2009-07-27T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last week one of my photography friends, Dominique, called me and another photography friend, Maria, up to come do a shoot with her for an aspiring model, Lindsay. Boy did we have a great time! I have so many favorite shots I can't wait to work on some of them, but for now, I'll post just one, and sorry it's not even of her face. I just LOVED these hot red shoes she had on to begin with, and I loved this little shot I got.

Ok, now I have some more to post.

We started the evening out at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds and played around in several locations there...

Then we played at corn fields down by the University of Minnesota.

We tried to end the night with some off camera lighting, but the field we chose had a sprinkler system that was threatening to destroy our equipment, so we decided to save that for another night.

It should be illegal

2009-07-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

to monopolize so much beauty in one family.

It's not often

2009-07-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

That I get to do family portraits, and when I do, usually I refer them to my friends who do more family portrait photography than myself. I've mostly been doing babies and weddings. But I just couldn't pass up the chance to be this family's photographer. I was privileged to be two of these girls youth leader a few years ago and just adore their family. Their oldest daughter has graduated and is shortly going out west for college and their mom wanted family pictures done before she left.
Thanks A. for being such a trooper and walking all over the place to all the spots I asked (and Dad for carrying you!), I hope your foot heals quickly and you'll be running around soon!

When I loaded their session into my Lightroom, I couldn't wait to play with this one. I'd asked the girls to stand out in the grass and suggested they could do any number of things, play with the grass, look at the lake, talk to each other... and this is what they did.

Sisterly love... naturally.

brings a tear to my eye.

Dance

2009-07-23T13:20:00.001-07:00

I love this image because of the way they are looking at each other. They aren't chatting like a lot of couples do during their dance. But there's the unspoken connection between them in this moment. I like that.

Love under an umbrella

2009-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

A New Favorite

2009-06-16T18:45:00.001-07:00

Krista and Brian

2009-06-07T13:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the photo session and reception for our friend's daughter, Krista, and her husband Brian. I knew Krista back when she was a teenager in the Young Women's program at our church. She's grown up to be a beautiful woman.

We had planned to spend about an hour at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, but it started pouring rain early in the day and the rain stayed all day long with gusts of wind. We found a few sheltered spots to play around in. I love sessions like these where there's no wedding to rush off to, and the dress doesn't have to stay completely spotless!

Hope you like your sneak peek and look forward to showing you more!

Wedding Shoes

2009-06-02T07:54:00.001-07:00

Just working on images from a recent wedding. I fell in love with this shot I named "Wedding Shoes". Original, I know. It just reminds me of little girls, daydreaming about their wedding. Dreaming about all the little details, the gown, the veil, the boquet. I don't know that we often dreamed about the shoes, but if I did, they'd have looked like these. Simple, elegant, classy, and not too high of a heel.

I like this one too...

May 16

2009-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

May 16 was a beautiful day for a wedding! I'm so glad to have kicked off the wedding season at the Loring Pasta bar with Heidi and Dave on their wedding day.

When I first arrived at the location I headed up to the red room. Shortly after I arrived the center piece designer brought up an arrangement. He must not have noticed me because after putting the center piece down and arranging it and then backing up to admire it from a distance, he turned and was startled by me. He said he'd sensed something in the room but knew it wasn't Bob Dyllan because "He isn't dead yet." That got a good chuckle.

This place (and not to mention the couple) is a knock out! So much fun to shoot here. There's color everywhere and lots and lots to look at. The ceremony was held down in the main dining area.

After the ceremony we went upstairs for an intimate reception in the Red Room (which supposedly used to be Bob Dyllan's pad).

Her boquets and the wedding party's flowers were all done by Sadies Fine Floral Design and I have to say these were the most lush beautiful flowers I have seen in a bride's boquet yet. They were fresh and plump and looked beautiful the entire day long.

We did have a little time for some fun shots, I would have loved to have spent way too much time shooting just fun shots, there's so much that the Loring Pasta Bar and surrounding area have to offer.

New Skills

2009-04-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

I love improving my skills at Photoshop. Some people may think that messing with an image is cheating, but I love seeing the changes I can make with an ordinary snapshot.
Take the following shots for example. These are from a recent engagement session.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

So a couple of weeks ago I spent the day at a Photoshop seminar that was super fun for me. The instructor was Ben Willmore. Who is an extremely talented and interesting instructor to listen to. His techniques often get the same results I'm getting, but he goes about them another way, so it's nice to have another technique to apply and play with.
The part of the seminar I was most looking forward to was learning High Dynamic Range Imaging. If you click on Ben's name above it will take you to one of his websites where he has several HDR images. The program he used was Photomatix. I've downloaded a trial version and think I will be purchasing the full version next week. So my samples here today have their watermark on the image.

Here are two of my tries on HDR imaging. The first is my work station, the second is a fire my husband had going one day. Both were made with 3 bracketed images, one dark, one medium and one light(I set my camera to bracket shooting at 2 stops and shot on Aperture Priority). With the right settings in Photomatix an image can be made to look very similar to an illustration.

Something interesting to note is that the DVD case that can be seen in the upper right hand window was actually far back in the armoir, but because of the bracketing it can be seen very easily as if it were forward near the window.

My friend Gina will be in town this next week and we plan to play for a while with some new techniques I'm working on with lighting, so I hope to have some more images to play with!

Maple Syruping

2009-04-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

If you get the chance, next January I suggest checking out The Audubon Center of the North Woods Maple Syrup Brunch. It's only one day a year (maple sap only runs for about one month), usually the first weekend in April if the weather has been good for syruping (warm days and cold nights). It's a really fun day and very well worth the drive to Sandstone Minnesota and the $15/adult, $10/child. This is our third year attending and our kids LOVE it!
We begin our day with them by sitting down to a pancake breakfast with 100% maple syrup made there at the Audubon center. It is so yummy! Then they have a program for you, where you get to walk with them through the whole maple syruping process from tapping trees, to gathering sap, boiling the sap down, taste testing, and history of maple syruping. It's very educational. And did I mention fun?

Love is in the air...

2009-03-29T20:16:00.000-07:00

Meet Heidi and Dave. I feel so lucky to be able to photograph their wedding in May. In the meantime it was really fun meeting up with them at the Historic Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis for an engagement session. Aren't they gorgeous?

I'm so happy that it's warm enough to do outdoor sessions now!

The weathermen were so wrong about how Saturday was going to turn out. We were a little worried that we'd be toting around some umbrellas, but as you can see the day was clear and bright and beautiful, what luck! I've never shot down here before, and it was fun trying out a new spot. I'll for sure be back to shoot again.

I hope they remember me when they start having babies, their kids are going to be adoreable!

Collage

2009-03-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

9 Day Old L.J.

2009-03-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Meet little L.J. (Little John). Isn't he so sweet!?
I wanted to post these sooner but I was having trouble with my photobucket uploading, but it seems to be working tonight.

I'm not sure how I like the processing I did on this image yet, but it's growing on me :) I can see something like "Baby Magic" or "Johnson's" written above it where my logo is stamped.

In this one he just looks so sweet and peaceful having a nibble on his arm :) love it!

I also took a few snap shots of L.J.'s big brother. Look at those chocolately brown eyes....watch out mom, you're going to have girls on your doorstep in no time!

Newborn Sessions

2009-03-11T12:10:00.000-07:00

Something that has been brought up often lately is the subject of newborns and when the best time to have their first session done.

My own personal preference is to have baby's first session done before they are three weeks old. Most preferably in the first two weeks. I have a few reasons for this.

First, in their first week or two babies are in a stage that lasts for a tiny amount of time. Once it is gone, you can never get it back. This stage is where they stay curled up into a little ball. They are relaxed and sleep for most of the time. They are unaware of their surroundings and care very little if they have been put down, or are not being snuggled by Mom.

They still have their peach fuzz. They rarely have developed baby eczema by this time, I see it more frequently in the older babies. They also have not started shedding their hair developing bald patches, yet. They are still wrinkly and haven't filled out with baby fat yet.

I understand the desire to have images of baby wide awake and smiling at the camera, and you will have lots of time for that as they get older. I recommend having another session when they reach six months old and we can get them smiling and giggling. Waiting until they are a few weeks old, and trying to schedule during their alert time of day means waiting until they are fully aware of you, and if you are holding them or not. They worry when you put them down in unfamiliar settings, i.e. my studio, and often spend that time crying and begging to be held again.

I encourage new parents to treasure and capture the tiny newness that newborns have, because it does just last only a few short days, and then fades forever.

Tips From My Newborn Session Handout

In Home Sessions, What You Should Know.
© 2009 Jennifer Klingensmith

Here are a few important tips I'd like to pass along to you.

1. It is best to schedule this session when your baby is under two weeks. They tend to cry less, are more unaware of what is going on and therefore fuss less when placed down. Sleeping shots are most natural for them at this stage, so don't worry about trying to schedule your baby's session at their alert time. If they peek at us I will be sure to try to grab a few shots of that as well. They also don't tend to develop baby acne until they are a bit older, so it's good to get images when their skin is still soft and wrinkly.

2. Warm up your home before the session. For much of the session your baby will be unclothed. Babies are happiest when warm and snuggly. 72-76 degrees is ideal.

3. Choose a room with large windows. I am mainly a natural light photographer, so I try to use the sunlight as much as I can. Also choose a room that does not have colorful walls, if I have to use a flash, colored walls can add undesirable color casts to your images.

4. For up close images of your baby I will not need very much room at all, any average sized room will do, however if you want pictures of yourself with your baby using my backdrops I will need adequate space to set up a background stand that is 6 feet wide. You may want to consider using my home studio for sessions including other siblings.

5. Feel free to add anything to your session that you think might make it more personal or interesting for you, such as baskets, blankets, furniture, stuffed animals or anything else that you'd like.

6. Along with capturing the necessary newborn shots, such as fingers and toes and everything in-between I also come with ideas I'd love to try. They don't always seem like a great idea at first, but most of the time once the image is processed, they turn out really neat! So if I suggest something that you are not too sure about, give it a try! I won't force you to purchase the print, but this is probably why you hired me in the first place, to shoot the unordinary and make it extraordinary.

Another Storyboard Sample

2009-02-28T19:41:00.000-08:00

You can click on it to see it a big larger. This one is three vertical images with black selected as the framing color. Frames will come in about 1/4 of an inch on each side. Prints come without the watermark of course.

Camille

2009-02-27T09:30:00.001-08:00

I'm so lucky! I recently had a session with another beautiful baby girl!
This little girl's session was the result of a gift certificate given at her mommy's baby shower. I do have gift certificates available for free sessions and any number of prints you desire to give! So if you know someone who is expecting, and you know how much I LOVE newborn sessions, consider giving them the gift of a free session!

Storyboards

2009-02-23T13:19:00.000-08:00

Along with this sneak peek I wanted to mention my storyboards. They are 10"x20" and can have from two to five images, most arrangements of vertical and horizontal can work.
It's easy to find frames for them because it is a standard size. Usually they are sold with a mat that has three spots for 4x6 or 5x7 images. You just take out the mat and insert your storyboard print. The background around the images can be white, black or can be picked from a color in one of the images to help with color coordinating.

Aria

2009-02-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

A beautiful name for a beautiful baby!
Last weekend mom brought her over for a few shots. She was just so sweet the whole time and let us get a variety of shots. Because I've been knocked out with a cold this week I am just barely getting to them, sorry mom! I'll have a couple more to come later.

Here's a few more of my favorites...

2009-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

from the winter themed wedding I shot in January. They were such a great looking couple I wish I'd had more time to do fun and artistic shots and maybe some warmer weather.

She was so brave to stand out in the cold for this shot!

I'm loving doing this shot with couples... every wedding should be a big celebration!

What great smiles!

My 3 Sons-in-law

2009-02-14T18:23:00.001-08:00

This mother was blessed with three beautiful daughters, and now three wonderful sons-in-law. On the wedding of the youngest daughter I took this delightful image of Mary Jo and her three sons-in-law. What a lucky lady.

Congratulations!

2009-01-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Kendal who is the winner of a First Birthday Session and 10x20 storyboard!
Thank you to all who voted.
I hope to have more image contests in the future so look back periodically because you never know what I might do next!

Tami Jo and Timothy

2009-01-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I had the wonderful privelege to be the photographer of this couple's winter themed wedding day. I love the toast that her sister gave, saying in effect that the cold snap we'd had in the past week made the warmer weather for the wedding day and the wedding it's self seem all that much warmer.

This is truely a wonderful couple, wonderful people to know, and I wish them the rest of their lives in happiness. They are going to have beautiful children... and I suspect that might happen soon!

Hope you enjoy your sneak peek guys!

Tammi Jo's ring was very unique, she had their birth stones on each side of the center diamond.

A mirror at the entrance of the reception hall had their names and date engraved on it.

A moment in the church before rushing off to the reception.

Thanks to everyone who is taking an interest

2009-01-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

in the baby images contest below! I'm so excited to see all the votes coming in! It's going to be a close call!

I wanted to also announce while I have all this traffic that I am looking for some volunteer subjects who are willing to help me out with some lighting projects. Preferably people in their late teens, early twenties. The shooting times will be in the evenings at dusk, working outdoors with off camera lighting. If anyone is interested in helping out, I will give them a disk with high resolution images of their session for their time.
If interested, contact me at jennifer@jensportraits.com
Thanks!

Baby, Baby

2009-01-15T08:09:00.000-08:00

Well, this is it! Today I post one favorite from each newborn session that I did last year. Can you believe I only did four!? I love doing newborn sessions, and hope that everyone will spread the word on that! I plan to have another image contest next January as well.
These images are competing for the coveted "Favorite Newborn Image of 2008" title, which wins the baby in them a complimentary First Birthday Session and 10x20 storyboard with images from their session.
In my sidebar is the voting booth for your favorite image (this is not a pretty baby contest, as you can see they are all beautiful!). You may only vote once, unless you empty your cookies. Voting ends at 11:59 on January 30.

And here are the images-

A.

B.

C.

D.

Still makes me laugh

2009-01-14T10:32:00.001-08:00

I saw this a long time ago, but recently came across it again... and the other day I bought a shirt with this strip on it. Makes me laugh every time. :)

Wedding Formals

2009-01-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Today I'd like to address the topic of wedding formals.

You've taken a lot of time and spent a lot of hours scouring over photographer's galleries and portfolios when hiring a wedding photographer. You've chosen your photographer for a reason. Perhaps it's their artistic images that captured you. Maybe it was their personality. Perhaps you really loved the albums they offered.

Now that you've signed your contract and sent in your deposit your photographer may ask you for a list of family members you'd like to have included in your wedding formal pictures.

I've had a lot of brides give me a variety of lists, some very minimal, because they want me to focus more on artistic pictures for the day. And some brides have given me a more extensive list, wanting to make sure they are photographed with each member of their day, which is fine with me, but takes a lot of time and also cuts down on the time I can spend doing more creative work for them. It all depends on what the bride and groom really want, when placing images in their wedding album.

There is one issue I'd like to address with future brides in particular, when considering on who to have photographed in your wedding formals. You and your groom are coming together to create a union.

Mark 10: 7-8 (KJV)

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

This is a union between two families. Two families becoming one. You will now belong to his family, and your groom will belong to your family. There is no reason to have individual pictures of yourselves with your family members. There are several reasons why it is not necessary. First, it quite often ends up with redundant images and burned up time, which will make less time for more artistically inspired photography. It can also wear out the whole family having to wait around for their turn in the pictures. In the end it can end up being one long portrait session instead of a wedding session. Please consider having only one image with you and your family together without your bride and groom, and then one image with both of you with the entire family instead of individual pictures of you with each of your family members.

When deciding what images you really want in your album to look back on in the next 50 years, think about what is most important to you. When choosing your photographer, what images were you drawn to most? Are pictures of your family what you will hold most dear, or will you want more artistic images?

You make the call.

Getting started

2009-01-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

I've run into a few people lately that have wanted to get into photography professionally. I think that's great. I love to see new views and new ways to do things, and I love new ideas! Fresh blood is great, in my opinion. I don't think you need to go to college to become a great photographer. Most all of the greatest photographers in history were self taught, or had very little formal education in the field of photography. It is a trade, an art, where the technical parts can be learned, but only the greatest artists have it in them to make the greatest images. You can give someone a pencil and teach them to draw a horse, but it doesn't mean that person's horse is going to look realistic or even relatively like a horse!

I do want to share some thoughts I have on the matter of people getting started into photography. I think, that a lot of people are misguided by mainstream media and advertising to think that mega pixels are the end-all, be-all of cameras. The more pixels the better. This is not so. Unless you are planning to shoot the next billboard going up on I-80, you don't need a whole lot of pixels. A fair amount is good. I'd say 8 is a fair number.

We have a family picture above our fireplace that is a 24x36. It's huge. I can read my husband's atomic watch on it and tell you the exact second that picture was taken. It was taken on a 30D, which has 8 mega pixels. I doubt many people need a picture that is much bigger than that.
I think that some people think that more pixels will make their pictures better. This is not so.

If you'd like to get started, first you need to invest in a good SLR body. Sorry guys, no point and shoot will be able to cut it for very long. Nor, as you improve, will you be happy being stuck with that one lens that is stuck to your camera. You need a good SLR that you can change lenses on, that allows you to shoot full manual (that means you can choose your shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focus).

I'd recommend, if you'd like to keep your costs down to start, finding a good reputable dealer in your area or try Adorama or B&H for used equipment that they rate on a scale of wear. Both are very reputable companies. Beware of the businesses giving a "great deal!". When I first started out I got scammed into buying a camera I thought I was getting a great price on, but then the next day they called me and they told me that the camera wasn't "formatted", whatever that meant and that I'd have to pay major bucks to "standardize it". I still have no idea what that all meant, but I quickly cancelled my order and cancelled my credit card so they couldn't charge me a "restocking fee".

Don't ignore the fact that there are also many great local businesses that have great reputations and can be very helpful in helping you find the best first SLR for you and your needs.

Look for a body that is in good shape. I'm more familiar with Canons, so if you are looking for a used SLR I'd recommend a Canon 20D, 30D or 40D body to start, if you can get it with a kit lens even better. You can talk to a Nikon enthusiast to find out what's comparable for Nikons.

You can get a couple of excellent lenses to start with for little money. Lenses DO MATTER. You can have an excellent camera, and a crappy lens will ruin the picture. One I would recommend to start would be a 50mm 1.8. Don't let it's small price ($80-90) or plastic body fool you, this lens is a sweetheart! It's what's called a "prime lens". It won't zoom, you'll have to do that with your feet, but you can get some amazing depth of field (where some thing's in focus and everything behind/in front of it is blurred), and also can shoot in lower lighted settings.

Learn your camera. Get out and shoot a LOT! And READ a lot! Canon has a great website to help you learn to use your new camera, link here. Check out Erin Manning's tutorials with the Rebel Xsi (it can apply to any Canon SLR) in the Canon Digital Learning Center.

Many people make the mistake of thinking they need the latest and the greatest in the world of cameras, but really with a good body and a good lens you can do a lot of great stuff! Learn to work with and master what you have before investing in the next "big idea". This is really important. If you don't do this, you will find that you aren't getting the results that you want and throwing money after stuff that you think will help you. You will never really get what you want.

Editing programs are also nice if you plan to make your pictures better. You don't need to start with a $1500 program. Finding a program that will let you do simple editing is all you really need when starting out. Some things to look for are "does it let me lighten, increase contrast, clone or crop?" The trick is to get it mostly right in the camera, so that you don't have to edit much, if at all. That takes lots of practice, studying and knowing your camera and subject.

Don't Rule Out!

2009-01-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

Don't rule out winter for a fun outdoor portrait session!
Bright winter-wear shows up beautifully with a snowy white backdrop, and so many unique ideas and poses can be done, that can't be done any other time of year!
Besides, who's seen a kid play in snow with a frown?

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-22T18:49:00.001-08:00

I wish to send a Merry Christmas wish to all of my clients from 2008 and thank you all for being such wonderful people. Thank you for a great year in portraits!

I'm hoping to be much more active in 2009 in having contests and give aways and also add to my available products line.

Be watching in January for the 2008 Baby Contest where I will award one baby that I photographed in 2008 with a FREE First Birthday Session and complimentary 10x20 storyboard.

I love sleeping babies!

2008-12-01T20:33:00.001-08:00

Don't you just want to cuddle up with her?

Ellie

2008-11-22T17:24:00.001-08:00

I was so excited to finally get the opportunity today to meet Ellie! She is so sweet. She loved to talk and talk and talk. She's going to be a chatter :) We had a session scheduled a month ago, but she came down sick the day of her session. After that she went through heart surgery, and just like the special miracle she has been since she was born, she came through that with flying colors and so much faster than expected! Thank you Matt and Erin for letting me come by and photograph your sweet little girl.

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