Year: 2012

Just wanted to say hello and tell you thank you for visiting my blog! I’ve been having some wonderful sessions lately and really looking forward to my upcoming shoots over the next 2 weeks. I’m trying my hardest to deliver sessions within a weeks time. I will have EVERYONE finished up with before Christmas. I have a little over 10 sessions to photograph until I will be taking off for two weeks. I haven’t given myself 2 weeks off from shooting since I got married over 2.5 years ago. Sometimes you just need to say no and give yourself time to enjoy the Holidays. Last year, I didn’t get to enjoy them as much as I wanted – I was too busy working. This year, I turned over a new leaf to remember to work hard, but also take time for myself. Thank you to everyone who booked early, I appreciate you! And my sincerest apologies for being unavailable for all the people who’ve inquired over the past few weeks. I am now booking for late January, I have a few spots left. Feb-June have scattered dates open too. Don’t put it off, if you are thinking about a shoot… please book early :) Starting in 2013, I’m standing firm to only booking 3 to 4 sessions per week. Once they are full, you can either book for a later date or be placed on waiting list for that particular month.

I hope all my clients and blog followers know how thankful I am for you! It’s been a wild ride these past 5 years as a photography business owner. I would be nowhere without my clients! THANK YOU! Remember to take time this Holiday season to spend time with your loved ones. Bake cookies, make a few homemade and crafty gifts, get together with friends, laugh and celebrate the passing of another blessed year. Decorate your tree, turn up the Christmas music and just enjoy it! Sometimes Randy will walk in a room and I’m like in my own world. Dancing and acting crazy with the dogs… radio blaring and dancing around. He just stands there and laughs. After long days.. I need the comic relief :)  I thank God everyday for giving me this life. I’ve been having a few of those…. “everything happens for a reason” days lately. You know when you get your hopes up about something and then it’s like POOF…. GONE! Nevermind. At the end of the day I realize it’s all in God’s plan and timing. He will show us exactly where he wants us to be, we just have to be patient. I am a firm believer in that :)

I can’t wait for my upcoming shoots, there will be lots more to share here on the blog coming up! Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope Randy and I can get a photo taken soon to make a Christmas card.. I’ll be sure to share it here!

I had the honor of photographing the birth of my best friends baby last week. I’ve known Dana and Tim for over 10 years and they have been wonderful friends to my husband, Randy and I. They welcomed their first little baby into the world and it was such a beautiful day! I loved getting to document this for them. It was a very emotional day, I am so happy they allowed me to be there.

I took over 300 photos, but here are just a few….

I’ve blogged Monday-Friday for as long as I can remember! This past week has been a bit of a whirlwind so excuse my absence. My best friend gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Noah Jackson! It was amazing experiencing all this over the past few days with her. Tons of photos have been snapped! Sometimes its nice to slow down a bit and enjoy the beauty going on around me. Thank you to all my clients who’ve been patient with pictures…. it’s been a really busy past two weeks of photographing portrait sessions. I’ll finally get back to editing, blogging and releasing online galleries today. These next couple of months are going to be fun with the Holidays, my Birthday and we have a ton of Showers & Weddings coming up for friends. Looking forward to seeing all my clients for their Nov/Dec sessions :) Just know that I’m working as fast as possible to get things back to you all in a timely manor. Thanks again for all the love and support.. more pics coming soon!

It’s probably been over year that I’ve taken a full week off from blogging – maybe even longer. Those of you who follow my work are most likely wondering where I’ve been! Well here in New Orleans, we’ve had a bit of a pause in our usual routine. Hurricane Issac has been the only thing on our minds this past week. Monday I photographed a twins newborn shoot in the morning and afterwards went straight to stock up on the necessities: food, water, gas, candles, etc.  Tuesday morning was spend picking up the yard, loading my children’s portrait chairs into the garage and then unloading my car from all the newborn props. Tuesday was a waiting game, the wind and rain began to pick up in the afternoon. Tuesday night we lost power – slept at home all night with no power and AC. I say slept… it was soo hot! Woke up Wednesday morning to a flooded street, some trees down, etc. We were kind of back and forth between my in-laws house and my parents house. It’s truly been a joy to spend time with our families over this past week. As terrible and destructive as storms can be, I’m grateful for the break. Finally back at home now with power and working air. Our A/C also went out due to the storm, thankful that the parts were changed out yesterday and we have cool air again :)

Bummed that I had to reschedule 4 out of 5 of my sessions last week :( Tomorrow I’ll get back to emails and editing, then probably blogging again on Tuesday. Looking forward to my upcoming sessions. A big thank you to my clients for being patient while we get back to normal here in NOLA! I know there are soo many of you still left without power.

Today I enjoyed a lovely day with my friends at a Bridal Shower for my friend Noelle. We were not letting Issac ruin out plans! Happy to be in her upcoming Wedding this December. We had lots of fun planning for her shower, it turned out so cute! Next up, is my friend Dana’s Baby Shower which is this coming Saturday.

I can’t tell you all how much I am enjoying my weekends again with family and friends. I love spending time with them, planning upcoming parties, going to dinner and lunch, cooking, shopping, dreaming and just having more me time. I feel like I’m able to be a better wife, friend and daughter now. Who wants to go through life with their attention being focused on 8,000 different things. That’s how I felt when I was working all week and just about every weekend. Simplicity is freeing. It’s a nice feeling when you don’t have to worry anymore about missing out on things. Life is short… cherish it :) I read something the other day that really hit home…. “Follow your dreams, not someone else’s.” For so long I always felt like I needed to be a certain type of photographer to be “successful” – you really do find so much happiness when you just live your own life and stop feeling like you need to be just like someone else. I am in a good place in my life – happy with my career and thankful for the opportunities I am given. Photographing children brings me so much joy. It takes all different kinds of people to make the world go around. If you are smart  – thank God for that. If you cook well – thank God. If you are a good speaker – give thanks. We all have our own special things that make us who we are. Been thinking about starting a personal blog lately to separate my life from my business. I would love to hear some feedback – do readers like a mix of myself along with my photography? Do you enjoy getting to know me as a person behind the photos? Do you ever relate? Should I separate the two … does it really matter? I have so many personal journals that I keep because I truly love writing when I have the time. Some stuff I want to share but don’t know if it’s the right place. However, personally as a blogger – I love reading about other people’s lives through their posts.

As crazy as the past week has been, I feel refreshed. It’s nice when you can give yourself time to collect your thoughts. Mother Nature gave us a little break in our normal routine last week. Thank you Jesus for keeping us safe.

I haven’t done my hair or worn makeup in a week. It was actually nice to get presentable today, haha! This past week, we’ve laughed, shed a few tears, grew closer with family, drank wine, cooked, cooked more, baked, watched the rain, listened to the wind, dressed up the dog, picked up leaves and broken tree limbs, watched movies, snuggled our puppies, laughed some more until we couldn’t breathe, and loved….. but most importantly made memories! Here just a couple of iphone photos from the past week.

Just wanted to say thank you to all of the people who check in to see what’s new on the blog. I keep saying one day I’m not going to work so much so that I’ll have the time to post more personal things about my life, my family, etc. I always put client editing first before posting anything about ME! I just can’t seem to find the time. As most of you can tell, the blog has been nothing but kids, family, maternity, and engagement pictures popping up! Where have the Weddings been? I photographed my last Wedding about 3 months back. About a year ago I realized that it was time for me to get my weekends back. It took me over a year to work through all my contracts. After 5 years of being a Wedding photographer, I realized it was time to start spending time with my loved ones and giving myself a break. You only live once! I’m not saying that I’ll never go back to shooting Weddings, but right now my heart is leading me in another direction. I get so much enjoyment from photographing portrait sessions and working Monday-Friday. As I’m sure most of my clients can attest….. getting to spend time with them is like spending time with an old friend. These days I’m more relaxed, more easy going and truly enjoy each day to the fullest. I really am addicted to my career. I am so thankful for all the people that call and email looking for me to be their photographer. Although some days I can get overwhelmed, when I stop and smell the roses….. these people have molded me into who I’ve become today.

So here I sit, after a long, tiring day and I’m content. I am living out my dream and I thank God for giving me this life. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family and support system. My friends, my husband, my inlaws… I am lucky. I can’t wait until the day I’ll be photographing my own children. What will they look like? How will life change? There are so many questions that run through my mind, but I am happy to be where I am now. It’s funny how I think back on certain times in my life and I can remember what I was praying about during that time frame…. Guidance, Family, Business, Marriage, Strength, etc…!

It’s so easy to get caught up in the midst of day in and day out routine. I’m really looking forward to our beach vacation with friends next month! I know many of you feel the same way about needing a break. Sometimes I just go sit outside and let the sun hit my face. I hear the birds chirp and I just soak it all in. That’s how I feel at the beach…. just calm and collected.

So these are my thoughts… August 7th, 2012. Where has the time gone? I’m sad that 2012 is vanishing so quickly!! Until next time… here’s a couple of photos of life lately over the past few months ;)

For Sale :

I am slowly making the switch over to Nikon. I’ve sold off a good bit of my gear already, but here is what I have left :) I have bags and boxes for everything listed below. All of this is in great condition! I know there are some local photogs that follow my blog, so please email me if you’d like to buy anything: jenamatophoto@gmail.com

Canon 5D … $600 – SOLD!!

Canon 5D Markii Extra Battery … $25 – SOLD!!

2- Canon 5D Extra Battery … $25 –  BOTH SOLD!!

Canon BG – E6 Battery Grip for 5D Markii … $100 – SOLD!!

Canon BG – E4 Battery Grip for 5D … $100 – SOLD!!

Canon CP – E4 Compact Battery Pack (like brand new) … $100

2- Canon 580ex ii Flash (like brand new) … $300 each – BOTH SOLD!!

Canon 50mm f/1.2 Lens (my baby!) … $1000

Canon 24-105 f/4.0 Lens … $800

Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro Lens (like brand new) … $400 – SOLD!!

Canon 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye … $400 – SOLD!!

This past weekend my friends Tim & Dana had a ‘Gender Reveal’ Party! They are expecting a little BOY in November! This has got to be one of the most exciting things ever, I think I was as nervous as them before cutting the cake! For those of you who don’t know how this works. Dana had her ultrasound done on Friday, without looking at the gender photo – she took that straight to the bakery. The bakery made her a cake filled with BLUE icing. Tim & Dana cut the cake to find out that they were going to have a little boy! You may remember their Bahamas Wedding back in 2010? Anyway, just wanted to share a few photos from the day! We had such a great time with our friends :)

6.12.10! I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since I married my best friend. It seems like yesterday. Thank you God for blessing me with Randy, I am forever grateful to you. We took this photo last year for our 1 year shoot ;)

I’ve enjoyed the nice little break I gave myself this past week. Although, I edited and blogged every day, it’s good to put down the camera every once and in while. I cleaned house, did laundry, lunched with friends, read for hours, went for a few runs and just enjoyed having more time in my day. For so long all I knew how to do was rush rush rush to make sure I got everything done. Slowly, I’m learning to let go of the fast paced lifestyle. I’ve truly enjoyed having some weekend time off lately, too. Life is good!

It’s been a while, huh? :) A lot has been going on lately and I feel like I’ve been going a mile a minute for quite some time now. This weekend I really enjoyed spending quality time with my husband, my family and inlaws. I can’t wait for my upcoming road trip next weekend with my best friends. All the girls are headed to see our friend Amy who lives in Alabama. It should be pretty entertaining – this is our High School group that has been friends for about 14 years! Never a dull moment, that’s for sure!

It’s hard to believe that Randy and I will be married for two years next month, where has the time gone? All I prayed for when we got married was that God would lead me in the right direction with my business – I wanted to dive in full force. And that’s exactly what happened. I shot 5-7 portrait sessions a week and a Wedding every other weekend. It was probably sometime late last year when I realized something had to give. I couldn’t keep up this fast paced life anymore. I am being completely open and honest here… I missed my loved ones. And for what? To feel like a hamster on a circular wheel? Some extra money in my savings account? We have everything we need and you surely can’t take it with you! I will continue to work hard, but not at the expense of my happiness. If any of you have followed my blog for a while – you’ve witnessed first hand the amount of work I was taking in. I run this business 100% on my own – from emails, to wedding appointments, photographing all portrait sessions, editing every single wedding and session, burning CD’s, making client packages, creating online galleries, blogging my favorites from everything I photograph, designing Wedding albums, all album ordering, all mailings, photo orders, website updating, hosting, buying business supplies- the list could go on for miles I feel like. I’m not trying to say how great I am, I just want people to know how hard it is sometimes. There are lots of new-by photographers out there today that only see the glitz and glam. This is a business that requires attention just about 7 days a week. I also don’t go run off to the mall all the time, I come back to my office after every single session and work a 9-5. Most of the time it’s late hours in the evening, too! Since we’ve been married my business has been my baby. It’s like having a child. I tell God thank you every single day for blessing me with this career. I am not complaining because I know this is what I was born to do. Sometimes it just takes time to figure out what works best for you. Over the past 5 years in business – I’ve learned so much about myself.

I thought back on what I had prayed for…. a business that would take off. Well it did and then I realized how greedy it can made me sometimes. When I felt like I needed to take in every little inquiry that came through my email, it surely began to catch up with me. Then I started praying for clarity and for guidance on how to change the things that weren’t making me happy anymore. I wanted to live a life that revolved around love, carrying for people and making the most out of everyday. I didn’t want to come up for air in 10 years and realize I missed the best days of my life. So I slowly started cutting back. Taking in less and less Weddings, saying no to Portrait sessions that were going to put too much stress on my already booked up week. And then it all seemed clear. My stress began to diminish and my calendar didn’t look like a bomb went off anymore.

Thank you God for continuing to bring people into my life to photograph, thank you clients for allowing me to live out my dream. You guys bring me so much happiness :) So I just wanted to fill you all in on my schedule and how things are changing. Starting in June, I will only be booking 4 sessions per week. I will take in 1 extra last minute session per week if my schedule allows for it and I am caught up with work. I am taking a break from booking Weddings to focus on my portrait sessions for a while and enjoy some weekend time. Thank you to all of my past couples who have trusted me with your Weddings. Your special day is forever in my heart –  I am honored to have been able to live and celebrate that moment with you. Now lot’s of my past brides are starting families – so it’s exciting to hear from them again!!

I am looking forward to this summer. More time with my loved ones makes me want to cry because I am so happy. I plan on exercising more, eating healthier, cooking dinner, baking, yoga and just plain out enjoying life. I hope you all will continue to follow my journey. I am much more than a photographer – I can’t wait to have the time to share more of my life with you all over the upcoming months. I hope there’s no hard feelings with the decisions I’m making with my business, this is just where I am in my life right now. I just need a little time for me. Don’t we all sometimes? Just to step back and soak in this beautiful life? God Bless and thanks for continuing to check in to see what’s new. You’ll be hearing more from me soon!

If any of you are feeling stressed out and the days all run into each other. Take a step back and pray about it. Ask God for help and begin to make moves in creating a life you truly want for yourself. One that revolves around love, happiness and relationships. When I slow down is when I notice all the beautiful things I was missing out on before. The little moments that sneak up on you and make you realize how good you have it. That’s God talking to ya ;) I have been trying to find the words to write this blog post for months now… it wasn’t until I went to the beach for 5 days last week that I had some time for reflection. To clear my head and make sense of everything. If any of you have free time during the day, start listening to Joyce Meyer Ministry Broadcasts. Joyce is so funny, tells it like it is and really knows how to put things into perspective! Much love to you all!

If you are thinking about booking a session, here is an update on my availability. I am only booking 4 sessions per week. I know there’s a few people who inquired about sessions, but still haven’t gotten back to me. I am unable to reserve your date if you haven’t confirmed yet. Also, if you are interested in newborn sessions – most Mom’s reserve a space asap to insure they get a session, I am no longer accepting last minute newborn shoots.

CLICK HERE to view all updated pricing and portrait session information.

June – 2 spots left

July – 2 spots left

August – 3 spots left

September – 5 spots left

October – 1 spot left

November – booked

December – 5 spots left

**If you are contracted into my ‘Grow With Me’ plan, please don’t panic – I already have your session space reserved on my calendar. **

I am so fortunate to have such wonderful Mom’s in my life. I only hope to one day be HALF the Mom that my Mom and Mother-in-law have been! Even though I don’t say it enough, they mean so much to me! I am truly blessed and I thank God everyday for giving me this life. Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky?

This past Thursday, I gathered my 3 Brothers, my Husband Randy, my sister-in-law Jen, and my brother-in-law Dustin! We headed to City Park at 7pm for some family portraits for our Mama’s! My grandmother took us all out to dinner afterwards, which was such a treat!! Although none of of us have children yet, it’s never too late to do something special like this.

Many of you might wonder why people spend so much time, effort and money on pictures. THEY ARE PRICELESS!!! I believe it’s one of the best gifts that you can give. I loved seeing their reactions, it’s the best feeling in the world! I hope one day that my photography allows you to feel this way. Loved, appreciated and celebrated!! Life is short – embrace it!

My Mom said this afternoon….. “JEN! I look at your pictures every day! Finally a shoot of my own children!!” Then…..I melted….

Please enjoy these pictures of my family! For this session, we played PASS THE CAMERA! I set all the camera settings and we just took turns photographing each other :)