From Jay & Jen, May 15th, 2009

We all have clients that stand out. I live and work in Orange County and being a wedding photographer just about means that I get the most beautiful clients ever! In fact, I truly find myself lucky because there is nothing more motivating than photographing people who are beautiful on the outside, but most importantly on the inside. Jen, happens to be one of many, unique for sure but one of many beautiful brides who’s beauty is to the core, inside….and it runs deep. If you know my work, you know that I connect with my couples, on many different levels, and it makes my job easier….because work is fun, and exciting! So, it’s no wonder my clients love their images, I want (need) them to have the best since I invested in their day on more than a compensated level. Jen stands out to me, and she knows why, her husband Jay, also does as well…just just amazing people! When I think about their wedding day, I think about the smile you see on the image above….and I also think about this one image, the hair piece. I know, insignificant you may think….but not really. It was a test shot for exposure…not even in focus…but I love it. It’s mysterious and very beautiful….this is why I urge photographers never to delete in camera, you never know what you may have in the end. And there is a story about this “hair”…which is funny… hysterical if you were a bridesmaid~!…but above all that smile…I see that smile everytime I see Jen, and always it makes my heart dance! XXOO

Getting Married? Photographer? Friend? Client? Curious? Well for sure you are one of these. I mean you are reading this after all. It’s late, on a Thursday, everyone in the house is asleep, but I’m not, not yet. It seems at night that I have so much to say and as I lay down to sleep, my thoughts surprise me and the command of my silent conversations do as well cause it’s at these times that I can best articulate my thoughts. I have toyed around with writing a book, but I have attention issues and I’m sure that would last about a half of a chapter and disintegrate. So instead I’ll try this, type it out…when it comes to me like this! why not right?

I love my husband, a lot. More than he knows. He’s sick right now, snoring next to me. What an incredible man….I have always thought that. He’s everything I always wanted my husband to be. That is why I married him. We met, in a way that if you know..yeah for you but too embarrassing to post, at least right now. But I had preconceptions of what I thought he was….just another man, not a big deal, and 6 short months later we were married (no baby y’all…not for 2 years later) but I had met someone I couldn’t live without…..I had been engaged twice before, didn’t happen….not worth getting into why….but the why I got married nearly 9 years ago is worth listening to, at least I think so.

He challenged me. In how I looked at him, how he made me look at myself. I saw a gentleman. Think about what this word means. He was everything and more you are thinking. In so many ways I wanted his attention and he did a wonderful job not giving much……but when he did it was sincere, amazingly kind….intelligent and even playful. Within those 6 dating months…..it was about 2 months before he even tried to kiss me. This was mixed with endless nights, I mean, the nights when you walk to your car, begin talking, and realize you need to go when the paper gets delivered…those kind of nights. I could talk to him forever, still can, I hang on every word….he has so much to say. His maturity was new for me. There were no games, no secrets, he was confident who he was, all his thoughts, transparent, and nothing but good was seen. He called, just to say hello, just as much as I did. I saw a respect I didn’t think a man could give, and he celebrated all of me, the good and the bad. But the most impressive part of him, and what still is, is his tender side. The side that feels and gives, and loves. I must have done something right to be blessed with a man like him. He’s so giving of himself, and in helping, and feeling….and never looks for it to be reciprocated. I love how he loves, I see it how he feels…there was no way I could ever let a man like that go….I didn’t want to live without him and I couldn’t marry him fast enough. So we could be an us.

The way I describe our relationship, total adoration. I feel like there needed to be a word stronger than love, something that explains why your heart beats, why you would even think about a family with another…..you must….adore them. They are you soul, they are your thoughts and no matter how long you are together, that adoration never tires, you still feel it, crave and celebrate it. I adore my husband, he is my foundation of life, what has made me everything that I am today.

You Marc, are my everything, and when I think of us I am always reminded of what you said to me on our wedding night. With tears in your eyes, and your hands on my face, as if you could read my mind, you said, “I feel like I am running out of time.” and I answered back to you in the words I inscribed on the inside of your wedding ring, “forever is not long enough to love you.”

Are you engaged? Married? Tiffany & Co. has always had an amazing reputation for fine jewelry and especially engagement rings. Ladies, if you are reading this, what a fine time to install this application on your man’s iPhone! That Tiffany & Co. blue box and white ribbon always makes me excited, and if you are the lucky girl to get that engagement ring of your dreams, this may be something you’ll want to hear about! And of course, if you’re married like me and think that when that anniversary rolls around, you deserve it too.

I downloaded the app on my phone, and I love playing with it! It is for sure exciting and something that you will use, even if you have a ring, it’s fun, and well, I like to play with diamonds.

You can’t get any easier that this menu to choose from! It is so amazing that I can not only view various shapes, settings, metals and designs but I can SAVE them for future reference. NO guessing right? I mean every girl deserves that perfect ring!

Okay so this may be the biggest PLUS besides getting your perfect ring, but you can also get the perfect fit! I mean how amazing is that! Check this out, your man can put your ring over the size he thinks you are and match so that the moment you get your amazing piece of perfection…it fits!

It is no secret that I love Tiffany & Co. They have and always will be one of my favorites. That little blue box is just the most amazing gift..oh yes for sure what’s inside is pretty spectacular as well, and guys you should know by now, Diamonds and Tiffany are a girls best friend!

These photos of my Travis, were taken a couple weeks ago, but remember, we all have beginnings. My story is probably like so many many people out there. You start with a small vision, or thought and you get carried away by it! I was about to lose my favorite photographer of all time. She was moving out of the state and I was left with the choice to hire another photographer. I didn’t want to do this, and every single time I took my children to her, I was more and more intrigued in taking my own photos. I bought a digital rebel, I loved it, I loved auto, it was fun. I also had an Elan 7 film camera and loved it, loved auto, loved auto, and 1 hour photo.

But she was moving, my archive rep, my photographer. I thought it was no big deal as I can totally take images for my self, with my camera gear, all I needed was white paper, white butcher paper, but it had to be really big!

4 Years ago, I went shopping, bought a camera (5D), bought a lens, 24-105, bought some paper, 4 soft boxes, a paper stand, 4 light stands, 4 strobe lights, a flash trigger, a few pocket wizards, a few memory cards…I was serious….seriously in deep trouble seeing I had no idea what I was about to do with all my…..CRAP.

I cleared my living room, cleared my mind, and bribed my kids to stand still on white paper like they did for their photographer. It was hard, to get them to even stay on the paper, it was harder to see the images I was getting on my screen…..pure…..pure……darkness! In a sea of black, I saw nothing, NOTHING at all. No image, no slight streak of light, nothing….what was wrong, why wasn’t the green box working? Why weren’t the strobes going off? Why are my kids not sitting quietly waiting for me to figure this out? Darkness….still…..there was these weird buttons on the camera….REALLY weird….like “AV’, TV, M…what are they? Would they help me? What is aperture? What the heck is ISO? I was lost, and just spent about $10,000 on equipment I had no idea how to use.

My husband came home to a make shift studio, paper, kids chaotically running about, empty boxes and a tearful wife, sitting frustrated on the ground, crying. It was difficult for me at first. I THOUGHT, if I bought the equipment, that the investment alone should mean I could take quality images. I didn’t wanna be pro, just take picture of my kids, just simple high key black and white on white paper…that’s all…it’s easy. I saw what my photographer did….it was easy……..It wasn’t easy…..and it took me a while to figure it all out.

First: Below image……I decided to shoot in monochrome, black and white. But there was this horrible black line on EVERY image. My camera was broken, I was sure of it. Until husband explained, “babe, that’s your shutter closing to fast, so the strobes are firing too fast”. WHAT? how did he know this, excuse me but I talked to the man at the camera store, not you and he said they would work. That’s when I discovered, sync speed. Yep, anything over a 200 shutter for the 5D wasn’t going to fly with syncing the lights! It’s almost embarrassing to put this photo up!

Fine…..I can get that…..but now for the close up….camera shake, still have some, I get excited……but LOL…….a little on the muddy side….man I hate all my old black and white photos….I hate that muddy skin……but I thought I was the best photographer in the world after this shot! LOL

I posted the first picture on this post first for a good reason, I SOOOO don’t want people looking at my blog and seeing my awesome first time photo-shoot photos! It’s hard to show, but not really, I have learned a lot! First I learned to meter light. I learned to bounce light off the white backdrop to make it, well, WHITE, I learned to position my lights to I can create beautiful light on my subjects and be able to expose correctly. I learned how to use white balance and to shoot in color, in RAW and convert to b&w later. I learned a lot. It all started by taking workshops. It took a lot of time, a lot of patients and a lot of time, did I already say that? The biggest thing it took though, was practice. Even when I thought I GOT IT! I needed to practice. Even though I’m on it now…..I practice. I need it. We all need to learn and we all have beginnings. We all crawled before we walked, then we all learned to skip and run….some of us are slower, some of us are more graceful. But if  your mother never put you on the ground, and you never crawled, you’d still be admiring all those people who make walking look so easy!

So, I think I told many of you that I can’t just drive on a long road trip, I have to stop! My poor husband had to keep stopping and turning around and around so that I could photograph some pretty awesome finds! In fact the one that he really got excited about, was the redneck car, gotta love camaros! Many people want this one for sure! I’m not really what I would consider a fine art photographer, but for sure I like to practice and recently have really been drawn to the “ART” of photography. Remember that is is an art? Yeah sometimes I kind of forget that, cause sometimes for me at least too “artsy” is TOO much for me. Anyways, old cars, they get my attention for a lot of reasons and as many times as I have driven to Sun Valley Idaho, I past these oldies and never had I ever stopped to photograph them until now. I hope you enjoy them, I would sure love your feedback…it was fun…I really like em!