Category: Personal

I’ve been back from our trip to Vegas for about 2 weeks now, but I’m just getting a chance to upload some photos. Shame on me for only taking a few pictures. I carried my camera around the whole time too. At the end of everyday, my back was killing me! I’m not sure why I didn’t take more. I’ve been in sort of a funk lately with taking personal photos. I am so busy with staying on track with everyone else’s photos, I forget about shooting for myself. This is something that needs to change. I was always the one with the camera in my hand whenever we had “girls night out” or it was someone’s birthday. I think my problem is that I hate my “purse” camera. I really need to invest in a new camera for personal shooting. Not my big ole’ large one I carry around for sessions and weddings, but one that is lightweight and easy to carry around. Once this little beauty I’ve had my eye on reaches stores, I think I may just have to buy it for myself. I saw this little camera at the tradeshow, which by the way was awesome! It was nice to get to see the companies I am used to ordering from on a weekly basis.

So on to what I soaked in at WPPI. I went to a motivational seminar by this photographer Jasmine Star that I follow from Orange County, CA. She updates her blog just about every day. She has definitly inspired me to be personal here. She reminds me that people will fall in love with you just as much as they will fall in love with your work. And the ones who don’t like you, who really cares? I’ve somewhat held on to this way of thinking and it’s helped me to look at the bigger picture rather than just being this robot that photographs people. There is so much more to me than that.

Since I forgot my paper and pen in our hotel room, I just used the notepad on my iphone. Here are some things I typed that struck a cord with me. Stopping work at 6:30pm. There comes a time when you have to separate life from business. I have a problem with this and I really need to work on it. I am so afraid of letting people down or taking too long with their images. I am a tough boss on myself. Truly I am. She searches for inspiration from magazines instead of other photographers websites. This is something I need to start remembering to do. I am thinking of turning one wall of my office into an inspiration board of cool styles and poses from magazines. She takes her little dog for a walk 3x a day just to clear her head and get out of her office. Once again, this is something I need to do- I forget to take breaks and I just feel like I need to work work work. She talked about creating a unique web presence, learning to say no, daring to dream, breaking the rules to be more creative, and reading more. She talked about how easy it is to get bogged down. We picked this profession for a reason, so we need to take advantage of it.

I am just sharing a bit of what I learned, I hope I’m not coming across as if I am venting. Sometimes I just need to type things out to almost hear myself think. This is a career I chose for myself and I am so thankful for those of you out there who have allowed me to carry out my dream. I just need to start making better decisions so that I’m not overworked. Doing so, I will become a better person… a better photographer. I have so many dreams in mind for 2012 that I’m not really ready to talk about yet, but I just can’t wait to get there. I can’t wait to take the business to a new level. However there are certain things I need to do and get through this year in order for that to happen.

If anything, going to WPPI opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. It reminded me that it’s okay to be me. To the honest and open. To put myself out there. To get critiqued. To be hard on myself. To learn from my mistakes. To have patience. To keep my head up. To keep dreaming.

Our 3 nights and 3 days in Vegas went way too fast. We spent some time with our friends Dana and Tim walking the strip and hanging out. We also caught up with our friends Beebe, Corine, Dayna, Chad, Rachel and Jared – enjoyed the views at tip top of Vegas! We joked about how you couldn’t pay us money to do the bungie off the side of the Stratosphere Jump, it’s like 108 floors or something crazy! No thanks!

Overall- trip was great, here are a few photos I snapped along our travels! Oh yea…. and Happy Mardi Gras!

Hey Guys! Just a little reminder that I’ll be out of town from Sunday 2/20 – Wednesday 2/23 for WPPI (Wedding & Potrait Photographers International) in Vegas! Looking forward to seeing all the new things at the trade show. Having a couple of days off with Randy and our friends will be nice too! Much needed after a realllly long week. 4 sessions over the past couple of days and then we shot a Wedding tonight. I have nothing packed and it’s almost midnight. I’m sitting here typing this as I wait for the pictures to load on my computer from tonight. Leaving at 8am and have a million things to do- better get started!!!! Randy made me eat Sonic on our way home tonight because for some reason we feel like we deserve 3,000 calories after standing up/running around with camera equipment for 8 hours. Not so much, now I feel sick! Wondering why I do it to myself?

I’ll be checking my emails periodically, so I’ll try my best to respond when I can. Hopefully I’ll be able to do a little bit of personal shooting too! Our friends Dana and Tim with be there with us. I want to take “After The I Do” photos of those two around Vegas… however they hate being in front the camera. Maybe I’ll get lucky and knock some sense into em’??

Hey Yall! I just want to say thanks so much to each of you who follow my photography on facebook. It really has become such a great place to keep in touch! Since, it’s been so great I wanted to give you a heads up if you live in my area of River Ridge. My brother Jimmy is opening up a Tutti Frutti in River Ridge. Should be open in the next couple of months. I am so excited because I think we’ve been talking yogurt in my family for over a year now. Dreaming of this and dreaming of that…. It’s been awesome to live the journey of it all through Jimmy. Lot’s more progress to go and I’ll hopefully be able to post the process once it’s all finished! I helped put up some construction photos today of the location, they are viewable from the facebook page. I’m so glad I won’t have to drive 20 minutes to get my Tutti Frutti fix anymore!

Here is is, click “LIKE” to be notified of updates. (Opening date, new flavors, contests, upcoming events, etc)

Tutti Frutti River Ridge

Just wanted to let you all know that I’m still here! I feel like I haven’t been updating personal posts as much, but somehow I can always find a million things to talk about. These colder rainy months defintely slow things down. It’s a blessing because it gives me a little time to reflect on life and to play a bit of catch up. Although I usually don’t take any longer than a week or so to get all my clients their images back, I haven’t been caught up in about 4 months, there’s been a constant flow coming in. Caught up just meaning nothing on my “to-do” list. Sessions or Weddings, editing, burning CD’s, uploading galleries, designing albums, assembling albums, blogging, filling photo orders, etc. It’s been great and I am super thankful for everyone who supports my business. I am in the middle of editing last weekends wedding, then I have one more shoot to go. I should be caught up by Friday until the next wave rolls in. If you are a past bride who still needs to pick photos for your album, please do so. It is the perfect time so you can get it back faster than usual.

Well Randy and I enjoyed his birthday last week. We walked around the French Market and did a little shopping in the Quarter. We had pre-dinner drinks at Gordon Biersh, then headed up to our hotel room at Harrah’s to get ready for dinner. We ate at Ruth’s Chris, then went to play at the casino after. I shouldn’t be allowed to gamble, seriously whether it’s slots, a card game at home with friends, or a football pool- I NEVER WIN. It’s almost stupid that I even attempt to push my luck.  Not that I loose that much $$, it’s just annoying.

I am going on week number two with eating healthy. I’ve just about given up eating all white bread, potatoes, white pasta and sugar. I’ve tried to start eating more fruit when I need something sweet. More omelets, salads, protein and vegetables. When I need a snack, it’s usually jerky, peanut butter, a handful of nuts or some light sting cheese. I’ve only lost a couple of pounds but feel like I have more energy. Now I just need to stick with it!

Lexie is going to get groomed again this Friday, she looked so darn cute last time- she is due for a cut!

I have reached my 25 Wedding max for 2011, the reason I do this cut off is to make sure I still have time for the Grow With Me Kids, the Engagements/Bridals for my Wedding clients, the Dancing school shoot of 100+ girls that I photograph every year, but most importantly so that each client gets the attention that they deserve ;) Note: I will probably still take a few more weddings on the slower months where I only have one wedding booked, or daytime weddings because I love them so much. So I’m not cutting them off, just accepting certain dates.

Our house is still undergoing renovations, we have moved on to the guest bedroom now. It’s the last and final room. We started priming the walls about 2 weeks ago, needless to say- it’s still primed with nothing else done to it. I’ve been busy playing catch up and Randy has been sick for the past 3 days with flu symptoms :( I have been nursing him back to health as best as possible. He likes to walk in my office and tell me how he’s already lost 6 pounds from eating just soup and drinking gaterrade. Get outtta heaa, it’s taken me 2 weeks to loose 2, haha!

I’ve reached over 1,000 likes on facebook, thank you to everyone who follows my photography on there- it’s become one of the best ways to keep everyone updated on my recent work!

We only have about 10 days until we are headed to Vegas for WPPI. Wedding & Portrait Photographers International. There is a huge photography tradeshow with the latest equipment, albums and tricks of the trade. Also lots of mini workshops and speakers. Looking forward to learning some new things and getting to hang out with friends too.

Enjoyed playing a big game of Bonko last night with 15 girls over at my friend Melanie’s house for her 26th Birthday. We had a great time and hope to try and do this at least once a month. I love weeknight dinners with friends, it’s the best!

Soooo, I think that’s about it! I would love to get into another crafty project however we don’t have much wall space left and not much room for any more furniture.

Here’s a couple of shots I took from our little french quarter day last week. Wish I would have had more time to play around and get more photos, hopefully in the next couple of weeks I’ll have some more time to do some personal shooting downtown.

Today my husband Randy turns 28! Can’t wait to enjoy the day with him and play tourist in the city this afternoon, we don’t do that enough! I wouldn’t be where I am today without his constant love and support. We are so alike and so different, but it’s what has made us Jen & Randy for the past 9 years. He’s honest, loyal, passionate and caring. His family, friends and music mean the world to him. He rarely has a bad day. He brings the sunshine when I can’t seem to get out of the rain. I love him more than I can even explain. Looking forward to what’s in store for our journey ahead. All I know is that I’m excited I get to hold his hand while we’re along for the ride. Some days I wonder how I got so lucky? Happy Birthday my Love!

A few photos from Randy’s show a couple weeks ago: