The Purple Camera

Daisy Dance

2012-01-11T20:51:00.000-08:00

Had Katie into the studio today, she brought with her a small bundle of flowers. So we had some fun playing with them,

I am grateful to Katie for helping me create something that has been rolling around in my head for a while now. I'll be doing this project again, but playing it out differently. All of the above photographs were done in camera with out the aid of Photoshop. That is what made the project so fun. I especially love the last one. What do you think? To much? Do you prefer people pictures to feature less abstract?

All content is © Copyright Jennifer Harvey 2012

Top 10 Faves of 2011

2011-12-31T02:59:00.000-08:00

10. FroYo! It's a frozen Yogurt shop not far from my studio. The flavors are always awesome and I don't know if they have special ingredients or if it's a sugar high, but it's always a great time at FroYo!9. The book Visual Poetry by Chris Orwig, amazing book. If you are a photographer do yourself a favor and get a copy, now! I can wait, here is a link.8. Einstines. I don't own them, but I do use them in the studio and they are awesome! You can control them all with one little device and they produce dependable beautiful light!7. Nikon D90. Best digital camera for the money! I love this camera will soon buy the D700 or whatever full frame digital Nikon has out when it's time for me to buy.6. Naomi Eisenbrey. She is a 16 year old girl who started working with me this year. I love and adore all of my models not holding any one of them in a position higher then the other. Sometimes one will really catch my attention. Watching this girl grow with each shoot has been inspirational to me and I often feel as if I'm growing because of her. I can't wait to see where her future goes!5. Fashion Designer Kirsten Longly, her child like joy and her gitty passion fuel me, inspire me to bing that joy and passion into my work.4. Shasta Hankins, Alicia Smith and Alexi Sage, these three ladies are fantastic makeup artists! They make my job so much easier and they are three of the best natured gals! We always have a great time on set!3. Douglas McCoy, I know a lot of hair stylists and each are great at something, Douglas embodies everything a hair designer should have. His work is flawless! He is an absolute pleasure to work with and he has some serious badass skills!2. Joanne Bisquera, Britanné Bergevin and Alanna Spencer for being awesome team players. 2012 won't happen without them!1. Oriana Layendecker and David Fournier, two people who keep me grounded and inspired! I don't know what life would be like had we never met. And because I can't put them in a list, my family. I am blessed to have a family that loves me and supports me and motivates me. My husband and daughter are my personal gift from God. I know that sounds selfish, but truly they are the loves of my life.As you can see people are more important to me then things. I hope in 2012 you cultivate your relationships and and evaluate what is important in your life. Have a very Happy New Year!

1st Photo Challenge Winner goes to...

2011-12-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

Nikki! Our first challenge was a self portrait. I love the romance she brought to this image with the lace and pink tones and the effects she added in the post processing. If you look closly you can see the camera remote in her right hand.

Once Nikki claims her prize at Modern Apothicary, I'll post some images so you can see the wonderful work of Alica Smith!

Thank you for participating in the challenge Nikki, I hope you keep doing it week after week.

Next week's challenge is "Reflections on..." This could mean anything you'd like it to mean. ENTRY into the challenge is free (always will be) and the whole point is to keep you creative and thinking. I hope you all will accept my weekly challenges and participate! You don't need a fancy camera, your camera phone will do! Just be creative and enjoy the process!

One lucky challenge participant, will receive personalized video gram! Sure to make you smile!

Q&A with Douglas McCoy

2011-12-22T15:35:00.000-08:00

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I recently had the pleasure of sitting down and doing an informal interview with a very wonderful man. He was first known to me through my sister when she came over one day with a fabulous hair cut. Seriously, the best hair style she has ever had in her life. I asked her who did it, she said "Douglas McCoy at 14th and Grand". Fast forward a few months, Douglas and I have worked together on several occasions and I have asked him to be the lead hair designer for the Debut Fashion show spring 2012! I wanted to share this interview with you so you can get to know him a little better and yes, that girl talking to him is indeed me. We were at a local coffee house so it's a bit noisy at times.

The following photographs were supplied by Douglas the photographers are unknown, I suspect Douglas took most of them, he enjoys taking images too.

If you have more questions please feel free to leave them below!

Spokane Maternity Photographer-Melissa 37 Weeks

2011-12-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

I think part of what makes my job so amazing is the relationships I have made because of it. A few short years ago this girl was my doe-eyed-intern. Now she is ready to become a mother! If it all goes according to plan (fingers crossed) in a few weeks I'll be posting some new born pictures!

The secret to a happy marriage...

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

For the first anniversary we had snow, it was awesome! For the second anniversary we came inside because December weather in Washington is generally miserable. I don't know what they did for the third and fourth years, but for the fifth, We did both! For now I'll just share some of the fun ones!

"The Odd Couple"

"I love Stephanie"

"Date Night"

The point is to not take life to seriously, take the good with the bad, be silly, take time to be sweet to each other and spend time together! Congratulations Eric and Stephanie, I look forward to next year!

P.S. I hope you all are working hard to make a really exciting self-portrait to submit for the Photo Challenge! I wish I could win because I would love to have Alicia do my makeup! Bye for now!

Are you a fan?

Photo Challenge #1 Self-Portrait

2011-12-17T18:38:00.000-08:00

Beginning December 21 2011, I will be having one photo challenge a week, It will be fun, challenging and often times sponsored by a local business! Each week the person who best represents the challenge will be selected and their photo will be given a blue ribbon and they will receive a free gift from one of our sponsors. To see an ever growing list of Photo Challenge topics and winners click the "Photo Challenge" page above!

Photo Challenge #1

Self-Portrait

12/21/11

Sponsored by Modern Apothecary!

The best Self Portrait will win a $60.00 Gift Certificate for a complete makeover at the hands of Alicia Smith from Modern Apothecary! This truly is a treat! Alicia is one of Spokane's top makeup artist and her little store is amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing the winner for this one! How fantastic will you look at that new year's eve party?

Nitty Gritty
Does not matter what kind of a camera you use, just make sure your photograph is a JPG and sized to 600PX on the long side.

If you want to see all the entries you'll need to "like" my fan page and check them out!

Life really is a Circus

2011-12-16T15:03:00.000-08:00

This week has been a circus for me, that's for sure. So when Chelsea (a big Brittany Spears fan) came and said she wanted to do this shoot, I got a sheepish grin and said "bring it on"! Here are the results.

Not your typical Boudoir

2011-10-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

*WARNING* if you are easily offended by nudity please click away. Thank you!

If you have not figured out by now, Black and White images are my favorite and I don't see myself falling out of love with them anytime soon. Below are just a few from a recent boudoir session I had with a client.

Original Photo does not have a bow, She is totally willing to let me use the photographs as is, but somethings just don't need to be seen by the public. I still like the shot though simply because it's not a typical boudoir shot. I like to mix things up now and then.

Showing off the hair and Shoes!

I like the profile with the pony, it's so vintage and modern at the same time.

That's all I'll be sharing for this session. I would like to add, that my assistant even said after the shoot that she felt really good about the session. I smiled and said "really because that's just what I was going to say". It was a fantastic shoot and the pictures all look amazing. Special thanks to Shasta for once again doing a fantastic job with the makeup!

xoxo

Jen

P.S. Isn't her profile cute???

The Young Lion Inspired Session

2011-10-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

Pavel came to me with the idea of semi-recreating Jim Morrison's "Young Lion" photo session, originally done and mastered by photographer Joel Brodsky, back in 1967. Naturally I dove in and this is what we came up with. Mind you.... it's inspired not a reproduction and I did spin it a little with more contrast. Hope you enjoy them!

10 things I love about Engagement Pictures

2011-09-30T10:40:00.000-07:00

Lens flairs Make my heart flutter a few extra beats.

Sneaking into fields and taking smoochy pictures is always fun.

The wrecking yard makes for some fun times

Love Songs

Learning new skills

Steeling Kisses

Carved Hearts no one saw...

More smooching!

She has the best smile!

and yes, another smooch.

Congratulations Josh and Rhianna, I can't wait to go to your wedding!

Best sale of the year!

2011-09-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

This sale can be transferred to the other types of photography that I do, Including...

Head-Shots and Modeling Portfolios or even Band Cover art!

Engagement or Holiday photos!

Quote on Thursday

2011-09-22T14:52:00.001-07:00

Quote of the day, sharing it here with you because it is exactly how I feel! I can't wait to see the movie!

"I don’t associate with people who blame the world for their problems. You are your problem. You are also your solution."Megan - Bridesmaids

What are some of your favorite quotes? Post them below!

Khadijha

2011-09-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Here are a whole lot of pictures from a recent session with the very beautiful young lady Khadijha. We had a behind the scenes camera man taking video, I hope to have that done soon to share with you, so keep an eye out!

Birthday

2011-09-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my birthday, we will be spending it very very low key this year. It will be nice to see a few friends and just visit and enjoy the company of others. For those keeping track, I'll be 35. Well that's about it for now, see ya later!

Tribute to Classic Black and White Headshots

2011-09-12T10:21:00.000-07:00

I really love black and white head shots, the lack of color is more then replaced by the presence of personality. For me at least it works well. Casting directors usually like to see color photographs because they like to know a persons, hair color, eye color skin tone, etc. So for the client I always do color, but for my own use it's black and white.

Here are a few gentlemen who have come in recently for a basic head shot. Men are interesting to work with, most of them don't eat up the camera attention like the ladies do, so getting genuine expressions from them is more of a challenge. I often find myself acting like a total goober just to get some sort of reaction from them... sometimes it works.

A Model is Born

2011-09-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

This was her first photo shoot ever and while I'm sure her heart was pounding like a wild rabbit, I think she did very well. I hope you enjoy the photographs.

And a video of her working with Scott Martinez the same night!

Retouching, people are still overdoing it!

2011-09-11T11:28:00.001-07:00

I was paroosing the internet this morning and found some pictures done by a photogographer that made my jaw hit the floor so hard my theeth shattered.... okay an exageration. In reality the retoucing done on this persons photographs was gastly and so over done it reminded me of a girl going in for her 78th plastic surgery and the surgon not saying "your face looks like putty I'm going to have to cut you off". You know what I'm talking about?

So rather then show you the photographers work, that would be rude after all... I'm going to do my best to duplicate it (this was really hard to do actually)

First lets start with the original photograph as seen below. Its a nice three quarter portrait. I took it in natural light and in manual settings on my camera. It's nice but needs a little more contrast and there are a few things that are distracting me so I'll edit them out. It's a bit boring visually so I will pump it up a bit and make it exciting!

I am going to try and explain how I did this... First I wanted her to have an absolutely flawless complexion so I figured plastic doll was what I should go for, after all who doesn't love Barbie (I do) then because her features were kind of erased from all that plastic, I'll add some dodging and burning in to try and make her look more high fashion. Don't her cheek bones look great?

Next I'll make her eyes sparkle and shine and be more blue, then I dont' like the redness in her eyes so I'll make the whites of her eyes really really bright (true white)! Now all I have to do is sharpen it and it will be PERFECT!!! I'm so fabulous!!! Looks so High fashion right!

Okay before you run to the bathroom with the uncontrollable urge to loose your lunch, I'm only doing this for demonstration. You don't need to do all this manipulation of a photograph to have a great photograph. I mean seriously it's overdone. I would never give this to a client and say here you go don't you look beautiful! *shutters* so here is the photo (feel free to click on it to see the larger version) It's absolutely hidious!

Below is my final image, the way I normally do my retouching. I did change the color of her top because the background was blending in with it a little more then I liked. But overall.... this is how I like my portraits to look. I want the subject to look like they had a great nights sleep and natural.

I'd be lying if I told you that I'm not normally this spunky..... so I won't. Feel free to ask questions or make rude remarks. Just don't steal my pictures and try and pass them off as your own. My lawyer really doesn't like that. Unless it's the middle picture, feel free to steal that one and pass it off as your own, you deserve the ridicule you'll get for it. Thanks.

Credits

Model: Naomi of H&P Models

MUA: JenJen

Photographer: Jennifer Harvey

Take My Picture

2011-09-09T18:09:00.000-07:00

Recently had the privilege to work with the Amazing Austin and Always talented Alejandro for a shoot idea I had. These two were quite the pair. Both sniffling between takes. I feel bad for them, but admire them for being so dedicated to their art and work.

In one of the photos there is a Yellow Jacket, let me know if you can see it! The place was swarming with them, at one point Alejandro had several on his person and we were all blowing puffs of air on him trying to get them off. Good news, no one got stung!

So without further a due, here are my favorite shots from the shoot!

Credits

Makeup Artist Shasta Hankins

Hair: Jen

Photographer: Jennifer Harvey

Model 1: Austin Cogdil of H&P Models

Model 2: Alejandro Garcia of H&P Models

Me, Myself and Oriana

2011-09-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

I've had quite a few people coming in for head shots the last few months, I guess it's time for a refresher. I'd like to share some with you. Each person I work with is always so interesting and not everyone is an actor! Don't get me wrong I love actors, they entertain me that's their job. What I'm saying is, everyone needs a great head shot. I'll start by sharing mine. Recently my good friend Oriana Layendecker came from Washington DC to visit, and while she was here she did some photographs of me. She did the same thing last year, It's actually becoming sort of a tradition. I hope to go to her next year!

The above photo is me, taken by Oriana. It's one of my favorite photographs ever taken of me. Below are some of the images I did of her... there are a lot more then this but this is the short list. I hope you enjoy!

This gown is by local designer Kirsten Longly

This is Alejandro Barjas and Oriana

Nerdy Hot Chick

2011-02-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

I imagine any husband would be head over heals with these photographs. We had a lot of fun creating them and I just love the idea of the glasses, it adds style to the pictures and creates even more interest.

*These are a little more racy then usual for me, but rest assured, I have her permission to post.*

Enjoy

Day 20

2011-01-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

Had lunch at Raw with my husband today. I loved the little cups and tea pots. I had the Vegan Sushi, it was amazing. If you are in town go check it out!

Day 19

2011-01-19T18:44:00.000-08:00

Every since I read the Highway Man by Alfred Noyes. I've been quite fond of the moon. I would have loved to have taken this with a 1600mm telephoto lens, but I simply don't have one, not entirely sure they exist for my camera even. Anyway my little 105mm did okay. I can see the detail of the moons surface. We are missing the cloudy seas but hey.... I don't control the weather.

Enjoy!

Day 18

2011-01-18T20:43:00.000-08:00

365 Days of pictures

2011-01-17T12:46:00.000-08:00

So I've been doing a picture a day on Facebook and someone said I should blog it instead, since my Facebook is only viewable for friends, I figured I probably should. So here are the first 16 days.

I hope you enjoy as each day I try to remember to take at least one photograph, even if it's with my iPhone.

My nephew's 10th birthday.

Josephine
Makeup by Shasta Hankins
Hair by Lindsey Wilson

Olive, my Christmas present.

Tatyana, our first shoot in the snow I think it was 20°f outside, she was a trooper!

My niece, making snow angels with her tongue sticking out.

A drop of water melting from the cycle.

The day Starbucks said they were changing their logo.... looks the same to me.

A strange bracelet that is supposed to balance your body... yeah right!

Fire

My favorite pastime, love my old school headphones.

Tatyana 2nd shoot, inside and much warmer!

Kayla

Caitie

My iPhone's resolution for 2011 was to forget all of my appointments, so I went out and got it's replacement.

My friend the owl, keeps me in a good mood.

It's all about the lips. I love the x process look (you may have notice.) Shasta Hankins did the makeup, Danise Rivers did the hair!

Well that about does it, check back each day for another random picture. I hope you have a wonderful 2011, I sure plan to.

Taylor

2011-01-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more of Taylor. She is a really fun gal, and I'm really privileged she has chosen to work with me.

Whenever doing makeovers, I always intend to take a before photo, but sadly I often times forget. So this year, I'm tying a string around my finger to remind me to get that before shot.

Professional makeup and hair make a lot of difference in the end product. Taylor without her hair done and without makeup is still very beautiful, as you can see. But when you have a team like Shasta Hankins for makeup and Lindsey Wilson for hair, you just can't help but get some images that make you sigh, well.... they make me sigh.

I hope you enjoy these, and

☆。★。☆。★
。☆ 。☆。☆
★。＼｜／。★
Happy New Year!
★。／2011＼。★
。☆。。☆。
☆。 ★。 ☆

Taylor vs Quest

2010-12-16T18:05:00.000-08:00

Taylor had to get up very early in the morning and drive through ice and snow to make it to the hotel by 8am. I've got to say... it was worth it.

Marina the Fashionista

2010-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

I love meeting and working with new people, and when I saw this girl in a photo, I contacted her and said, "I'd really like to work with you". Lucky for me, she agreed.

We threw some things together and made some pictures, for those of you who like to take a peek, here you go!

Yes this is all the same girl.

Boudoir Vixen

2010-11-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

I've known this girl long enough to see her blossom into woman hood. This was one of the most fun sessions we have ever had, I may have to put it in the record book as such. We rented a room and I don't think we fell asleep untill 2:30AM, got up the next day and kept working.
These were taken at the Northern Quest Resort. I can't wait to go back!

Blonds really do have more fun!

2010-11-16T12:26:00.000-08:00

Paige came in for a photo session, You know you've done a good job when your clients come back, in Page's case I think this is the fourth or maybe fifth time I'm had the honor to make her portrait. She gets more beautiful each time.

We spent a couple of hours together doing several different things, here are three of my favorites, we had so many to choose from! I picked three from our last set.

I had a lot of fun doing this session, I was in my groove, even though I had to call Danise and have her bring a curling iron because I forgot mine, to focused on makeup to remember I guess.

Enjoy!

-Jen

Beautiful Boudoir

2010-11-13T03:00:00.000-08:00

This session was a double whammy, she and her friend wanted to do something special for their husbands and to have a fun ladies day out, they came in and both did a session with me on the same day. It worked out well, While one was in make-up the other was in hair, then they switched. We did the same with the session, one was changing wile the other was working the camera.

They were a little nervous when they arrived, but by the end, they have both made plans to come back and do it again next year. Here is a seek peek of one of the ladies, I've not finished the second ladies pictures, but once I do I'll post a peek for you.

Enjoy!
-Jen

Makeup: Shasta Hankins

Hair: Danise Rivers

The Secret to looking great in your photos!

2010-11-12T08:23:00.000-08:00

David reveals the secrets to the age old question "what do I wear for my photo shoot"!
David Fournier is a photographer and friend from Silver Spring Maryland. I'm grateful he agreed to be my guest once again!

*****************************************************************
What to Wear?

So you are going to have your photograph taken. What to wear?!!

Naturally it depends on the type of shoot you are going to have. If it is a family portrait you may want something clean and casual, if it is a corporate head shot then you defer to the type of industry standard that applies, if you are having a boudoir session some expensive new lingerie is appropriate.

No matter the type of shoot, it is important to be sure the clothes fit well and you are comfortable. Too tight will accent extra weight, too loose and you'll look disheveled. You need to try on your clothes BEFORE going to the shoot. The shoot is not the place to be trying something on for the first time. It is not a good time to be uncomfortable. You will want your clothes to be clean and wrinkle free. This probably means you will be carrying a hanging bag to the shoot.

There are some general concepts that can help you prepare for any kind of shoot:

1. KISS
As with anything the "keep it simple" rule applies. Less is more. Wait, I know where you went with that. Thats not what I meant. Less clutter, is more. Dress up just a little but don't go over the top.

2. Solids
One of the easiest things to remember is to just wear solids. Its harder to mess up and will definitely not distract from the point of the photograph which is YOU!

3. Hire a stylist
Always an option I like to mention. There are talented stylists who stay current on trends, who understand color theory and will know just how to dress you to make the best impression. They are well worth the expense. They are especially useful if your personality demands a more bold or risky fashion concept. A stylist will ensure your vision is achieved without wandering into fashion faux pas territory.

I hope this helps you face the "what to wear" question with confidence. Remember, keep it simple and get help if you need it. Book that shoot! Your photographer wants to make you look amazing.

Busy Bee

2010-11-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

If you are a regular around here you may have notices a few changes. I know I know I change my website and blog way to often, I'm sorry. It's still me though. This time it's going to stick-- promise!

I've recently gone through some experiences in my personal life that have completely liberated me. I fee like a brand new woman, one with more focus, drive and a clear sense of what I want out of life. This means my photography is going to explode! Yes friends and enemies. I'm going to be driving my photography to places I've only dreamed of, until now.

For starters, I am focusing on my one passion, Boudoir. Sure I'll still do other kinds of photography, I'll always be doing something with my camera. But my area of expertise, my specialty is Boudoir. I have found that making other women feel good about themselves, makes me feel good and that's an amazing feeling.

So keep an eye out for me, I've got some big plans in the works and by big I mean huge!!!

Have a great day!

-Jen

Have yourself a Sexy little Christmas

2010-11-07T11:03:00.000-08:00

Get your girlfriends together and save a hundred dollars each! Or host a party yourself (at our studio) and save the entire sitting fee! Christmas deadline is November 30, 2010. Don't miss out on giving a gift only YOU can give! If you are not familiar with my work, please visit my website.

Click the graphic below to view full size!

Guest Blogger David Fournier- Artistic Vision

2010-11-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

David is a photographer from Silver Spring Maryland, his talent is multi-faceted, and his work speaks for it's self. I have found very few photographers who could match his talent and passion for the art. I asked him a few questions about his view on artistic vision. I hope you enjoy reading his response.

********
Where does Vision come from?

Not an easy question to answer. Not for me anyway. All I can do is relate my experience, limited as it may be.

If we think of vision as an equation I believe it is composed of process and perspective. Perspective plus process equals your vision or style. While some may nit pik that vision and style are two different things I think they are so closely connected that for the purposes of this post I’ll consider them the same.

Perspective comes from the sum of your experiences. It comes from the combination of ideas, the swirling melange of images and feelings bouncing and colliding inside your imagination. The stream you sat beside as a child, the painting in the gallery you saw while living in Europe as an exchange student, the feeling of sun hitting your face one early morning as you hiked a mountain with your lover. Whatever your experiences, they help form your perspective.

The more I try to understand my own perspective, the more I understand about myself. I realize I am a hopeless romantic who looks for the best in things. I am always looking for a way to appreciate the subject for who they are and who they could be.

Process is about the tools, materials and processes you use to make your ideas come to reality. They play just as significant a role in defining your style. I choose to shoot with certain equipment, I choose certain lighting situations, I choose to shoot RAW and I have a pretty specific way that I post process my images. I relate to my subjects in a specific way and I tend to prefer certain types of locations.

In my process I tend to prefer prime lenses (when possible), I love bokeh so I often use my 105mm or the 70-200mm. I’d rather backup and shoot a full length from far with a telephoto than get close with a wide angle. I love the variables of natural light but still look for the light that will emphasize my subject in a soft way. I like confident models who have depth behind their eyes. I like melancholy expressions and poses. I prefer to preserve as much data as possible in an image but if it comes to it I’ll happily blow out the entire background if I can get the exposure perfect on the eyes.

That's a bit about my process and perspective. Those are parts of what forms my vision.

Do have preconceived notions about what your pictures will look like?
Let me say that I know what to expect. I balance my “plan” with a journalist approach of looking for moments and angles that may not be obvious.

At what point during the session are you satisfied with what you have?
That depends a lot on what or who I am shooting for. If I am shooting a portrait I looking for the calm, comfortable expression that portrays the image the client needs. With an editorial I am looking for solid images in a variety of poses, locations and perspectives.

How much free rain do you allow the subject?
It depends on the subject. If I am taking a portrait of an inexperienced subject I will make my instructions quite simple and clear. Stand here, turn this way, smile...if I am working with an experienced model on the other hand I want them to do their thing. Show me what you’ve got. No matter the subject I want them to be themselves.

Do you create the image or does it create you?
I honestly think its a bit of both. I take photos like an explorer, seeking and looking and looking harder. On the other hand, my images tend to look like my images so apparently my style or aesthetic imposes itself on my imagery. It is a growth process as well, I am not the same photographer I was a few years ago and I don’t intend to be the same several years from now. Its a journey.

Danise and Brandon redo!

2010-10-22T14:45:00.000-07:00

I have known Danise for several years now and each year she just gets more fun! Here is part two of our photo session. Also, I'd like to say thanks to my friend Scott for loaning me his beautiful Nikon d700! I feel spoiled to have such great friends!

A stroll down memory lane

2010-10-21T21:16:00.000-07:00

For some reason I felt nostalgic while doing these, I decided to go for that 70's feeling. I hope you enjoy them. By the way this is one of my best clients and friends, Danise, and her beau Brandon.

They look so intense

Secrets in the garden

Mistletoe.. who needs it?

Nothing can keep them apart.

hmmmm.....

1,2,3,4,5......99,100 ready or not....

Twilight

Film is not dead...yet

2010-10-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

I hope film never dies! The thing I really like about it is, you make the exposure, you get it developed and your done! Unless you want to get a dark room and do it yourself, then you are only just beginning.

I was talking with a friend of mine about the Nikon F6. It's a 35mm film camera built in 2004, it was made to be the best film camera ever! I am in deep "want" at the moment. But am holding off because I just don't know if I'd actually use it that much. I don't remember how but after a while we decided to dust off our 35mm cameras and go out there and make some exposures. I thought it would be a good idea to try and capture the emotion joy. I think the idea was good, but alas I failed. However, doing this project did bring me great joy and really made me want to get that F6 even more.

I'll tell you a little about each picture, but first I want to say the prints are so much better then the scans, my scanner is a piece of junk, I apologize, please forgive me.

Good Day Note

This is my niece Ashley, and this "good day note" is a big deal for her because the day prior she was sent home before lunch, for bad behavior. I admire my sisters patients with this child.

Wild grass, I like the bokeh (one of my favorite things about making pictures, bokeh)

Julia, she is a tough nut, really hates to have her picture made.

"Take the picture Mom, I'm freezing!"

My family!

Julia had not seen the city from this point of view, she loved it.

My uncle made this while in Hawaii, It hangs on my porch.

Picasso's Napkin

2010-10-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Picasso's napkin

The story goes that Picasso was sitting in a Paris café when an admirer approached and asked if he would do a quick sketch on a paper napkin. Picasso politely agreed, swiftly executed the work, and handed back the napkin — but not before asking for a rather significant amount of money. The admirer was shocked: “How can you ask for so much? It took you a minute to draw this!” “No”, Picasso replied, “It took me 40 years”

I'm going to post a link to this persons post, Warning it has some language in it. They are not photographers but I feel the message fits very well with what I do and what I deal with.

Also this is a notice that starting in 2011 my sitting fee will triple, and I will not be offering "layaway any longer". Recent events have made it impossible for me to offer this to my clients. I apologize, but to many people have taken advantage of me and refuse to pay what they owe me, then get upset when they don't get their pictures. I feel terrible about it, but I don't work for free. So I decided to simply not offer payment plans. If you can't afford to pay me for my time and talent, then you would be better off going to a chain store, or finding a super cheap photographer on craigslist.

Ouch that was a bit strongly worded, but it's the truth! If you want cheap, I'm not your girl. I did the math and at my current prices I'm making less then a grocery store clerk. A one hour photo session is about 14 hours of work total. A lot goes into making photographs and I believe photographers who sell their work for dirt cheap are selling themselves short. They are sacrificing quality and a lot of the time lack experience to provide quality work.

I hope you all have a fantastic day, and enjoy reading this article about a computer programmer who feels under appreciated (boy can I relate).

Who says you can't make photographs in the rain?

2010-10-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Today I had the privilege to work with a very pretty young talent. Her name is Amy and jeepers, look at those peepers! I guarantee she will captivate you with those expressive and gorgeous eyes.

Today was raining but we didn't let that stop us, it's nice to have the E-3, slash proof. Don't think I'd dare take the 5D out in the rain, no sir.

Enjoy a few from today... and thanks for stopping by... feel free to leave comments and tell Amy how pretty she is, I'm sure at 17 (heck any age) it's nice to hear.

Telephoto Lens Compression

2010-09-29T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today,with the help of my stellar visual aids, I'm going to show you what Telephoto Lens Compression is. I know some of you may be saying "what the heck is a telephoto lens?" It's a lens used in photography that is physical shorter then it's focal length. My lens for example goes from 40mm to 150mm. This means that when my lens is extended out to 150mm and focused to infinity the center of my lens is exactly 150mm away from my sensor.

In order to be a true telephoto lens you have to have a complicated arrangement of lenses inside a shorter housing, that zooms out and pulls in, this saves you from having to haul around huge lenses that not only take up a lot of space but get very heavy. A prime l50mm lens is not a telephoto but a long focal length lens.

The telephoto lens is often used in portraiture because it does something really cool. It magnifies the background and blurs it out. This phenomenon is known among shutterbugs as compression.

Below are 4 examples of what the telephoto lens does, pay attention to the blue SUV in the background.

To keep the perspective correct I moved back away from the object every time I zoomed in to a different focal length.

As you can see above the SUV grew a little

Are you seeing a trend?

As you can see while the bottle remains the same (pretty much) the background gets larger and even at f/11 you see it is blurred out well enough to separate the bottle from the somewhat busy background.

That blur (aka bokeh) and magnification can really come in handy when you want to separate your subject from a busy environment. Especially if you were to open your aperture and shoot wide open.

Well I know my examples won't win any major awards, I just hope it helps you understand your gear a little more.

I'm going to go experiment a little more and just have some fun trying new things, I hope you do too!

15 Min Photo Challenge

2010-09-28T19:12:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling a bit blue this past few days, okay weeks... and thought what better theripy then to go take some pictures. So I got on Facebook and challenged my friends to take their camera (any camera) and just 15 min to go take some pictures. The goal is to have fun not to be perfect.

I drove to a street in town that I have never been, at least I have no recollection of ever walked down the street. I took my camera, and one lens and 15 minutes on my iPhone timer and walked around the block. I had quite a few people give me the stank eye but who cares, I'm having fun.

Here are my 3 favorites.

Natural Light Photography

2010-09-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

This is a special announcement for those of you who noticed that my studio vanished overnight. Thanks for all the phone calls by the way. No I've not hung up my camera just yet. That will never happen. No the truth is simple. I didn't want to sign a two year lease at that location nor did my partner, so we opted out of the studio. I much prefer natural light to the studio so I really feel no loss for this decision.

Not to worry though, I've made arrangements to use a local studio should the need arise. For now I'm still coming to your home or meeting you at one of the lovely locations this beautiful city has to offer. Nothing has changed as far as that goes.

I am still offering my services for head shots, babies, boudoir, and senior portraits.

Thank you all again for voicing your concern, Set your mind at ease, I'm still here and I'm still your photographer!

Love you all!

Mr. and Mrs. Piper

2010-09-22T12:09:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was honored to photograph a wedding. I had my very trusted friend Josh with me and he t handled half the wedding photography with me. This was such a large wedding (11 brides maids and grooms men so 22 total, and 3 flower girls) I could not have done it without him! This was a very fun day and a very large wedding. Here are only two photographs, I'd share more but I think the bride and groom would appreciate privacy.

Enjoy!

How I edit

2010-09-01T12:56:00.000-07:00

I'm going to use some examples of nature for you today because most of my clients would be upset with me if I posted an un-retouched photograph of them on my blog.

First thing that is very important is to get your camera settings as close as possible to what you want to work with, example, composition, exposure and depth of field. Each of these subjects are an entire blog post on their own, if you want to know more about them let me know I'll be happy to do my best to explain them to you. But for now I'm going to assume you know what I'm talking about.

Here is a picture of a tomato leaf straight out of my camera I did nothing to it, just made the exposure and uploaded it here. (it's a large file, feel free to grab it and play around with it if you like.)

There are several things I like about this photograph, I like the curve of the vine, the underside of the leaf facing the viewer and the circle bokeh (out of focus highlights). I'm a little board with the color saturation. Because I shoot in RAW format my camera peramiters do not apply to RAW files. So here it is, It's interesting but still kind of vanilla and a little boring.

I took the photograph into Photoshop and first thing I did was duplicated the layer and set the second layer to overlay, This gave a very pleasing contrast and color saturation. I felt a little selective sharpening to draw the eye in, was in order so I added just a touch here and there on the underside of the leaf.

I coped it to a 4x6 and thats all I've done. I'm going to group it with a few others from this set and put them in my kitchen. Hopefuly the images will remind me of the pungent fresh scent of growing delicious tomatoes in the summer time. I know the color green will lift my mood during the gray skies of winter. Feel free to take this photo and print it for yourself. I've not put my copyright mark on it so that you could enjoy it for your own if you feel so inclined. Just don't sell it or anything I still own all rights to the photograph.

If this had been a person, I would use the healing brush and remove any blemish, I have a three week rule, If it's not going to be there in three weeks, I automatically remove it. This is my basic retouch style. I don't like skin that looks like it belongs on Barbie, I love the texture of skin so I do my best to preserve it. I can and do more extensive retouching upon request.

Here are a few more I've edited exactly the same way. Except the fly won't be going on my kitchen wall.

Down by the River

2010-08-30T09:15:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the photographs I took yesterday as part of our group shoot. There were three other ladies there that I didn't even get time to work with. Thats okay though next time I'll work with them or I'll work with them one on one.

This may be the most I've ever posted on my blog I hope you enjoy them, feel free to give your opinions at the end.

How did you do that?

2010-08-27T21:32:00.000-07:00

I've been asked by several people how I made a series of pictures. Well I think it's best to show you the before and after then let you figure out the how. Most of these pictures involve 3 or more pictures, and I believe people are calling them compositions. Anyway it was a lot of fun, well making art always is.

Thanks for looking!

Sidni a collage student.

2010-08-25T09:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a session with Sidni, she's a charming girl who grew up in North Carolina but moved back to the origin of her birth (Spokane area) six years ago. She is studding to be a nurse and said that the Gonzaga mens basket ball team is her life! Yesterday we had fun getting to know each other and making photographs. Here are a few from our session.

She has some amazing hair!

And bright brown eyes!

Thank you Sidni for coming in and working with me, I look forward to next time!

The Fence

2010-08-24T09:21:00.000-07:00

There was a little boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, to hammer a nail in the back fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Then it gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us. -Unknown

Remember if someone tells you that you hurt them with your words, you should apologize no matter how justified you feel you were. If you love them, your own pride won't matter.

Just a friendly reminder to love one another. Have a great Tuesday!

Miss 'J' truly is divine.

2010-08-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Tonight I leave you with the best of both worlds. A lovely monochrome and a full color fashion forward portrait of one of my favorite people, Jeannine H.

Blue Party Dress by Glamaraita.com

Oriana Does Glamarita

2010-08-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

In this following set the clothing designs were provided by Ronnie over at Glamarita.com Please do check her stuff out, she will design custom clothing and the best part it it's all easy on the environment.

Vest Made from Mens Ties

Vest collar

Dress made form a 20 year old Elk Hyde

Side view

Sequined netted top in indigo

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed the show.

Oriana the Italian girl from Virgina

2010-08-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Today was amazing. Here are three pictures from one of the sets we used. You will never guess where we shot these. I have a lot more... and I'll get to them I promise.

Fashion by Glamarita

2010-08-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

The designs here are by Glamarita.com. She was kind and loaned me several outfits to use this week with some of the ladies I'll be working with. Ronnie (the designer) uses mens ties to make these fun party dresses and skirts, she also makes handbags and tops. She is having a fashion show on Friday, if you are local you should go check it out. RunwayRenegades.com Todays model is Jeannine H.

I'm not sure I've seen a group of ties look better.

This Blue Party outfit was Jeannine's favorite, We all agreed she would totally rock it at New Years or even just going to the grocery store!

Following is wardrobe supplied by the model.

Stay tuned for more from this series.

Digital Photographer Issue 98

2010-08-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

Today on my trip to Costco This issue caught my eye. First because of the spectacular black and white photo on the front, then when I picked up the issue I noticed the lower left hand corner under the title Portraiture. It's about summer portraits, and promises an article about creating sunflareres, a.k.a. lensflares. I love lensflares, they add drama to an image and when used properly add something special to an image. I've never read this periodical before so I'm looking forward to reading all the articles. It should be pretty good. Anyone out there read it? If you'd like to check out the magazine you can go to their website.

On a side note I would like to say that lens flares in my opinion don't work so well in landscape photography, and most of the landscape photographers I know try to avoid them as much as possible. The reason being is they distract from the scene and overall it just doesn't work for that sort of photography. Of course there are exceptions, I'm speaking in general terms. I find they work best when your are doing free style portraits, the added element adds a "feeling" of summer and carefree joy.

Feel free to give your opinion as well.

Sample Pictures with the Olympus E-3

2010-08-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

I took my daughter to the park, it looked like rain so we only stayed long enough to grab a few images and for me to get a feel for my new camera.

These are only snap shots so don't get to excited! These are straight out of the camera, except for the size and the watermark, I've not edited these. I tried different modes and different lenses. You may click on the picture to view it larger.

40-150mm @50mm, overcast sky f/5.6 1/60 ISO 125

Round Bokeh, 35mm Macro f/4.0 1/100 ISO 3200

Monochrome 35mm Macro f/4.0 1/100 ISO 320

I love my daughters wild hair!

Testing how close I could get 35mm Macro f/4.0 1/100 ISO 160

These are just snap shots I can't wait to take it for a real spin! I hope those who have been asking like these, And I didn't even pull out the third lens, oh well next time.

A friend did this for me

2010-08-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Go take a look and tell me what you think, please. I'm really digging the colors myself.

Spokane Boudoir Photographer

I'll be doing yet another post on boudoir photography very soon, I'm gathering lots of information to share with you before I do.

Have a great day!

My New Camera

2010-08-12T06:53:00.000-07:00

Enjoy!

Photo Vision is on sale, GET IT NOW while it's hot!!

2010-08-11T09:40:00.000-07:00

I've been receiving the DVDs from Photovision and they have SO much information in them!! You will see photographers on actual shoots, lighting techniques, great composition ideas, tips on Marketing, go behind the scenes at weddings and much more!! Sign up today and receive a full year for only $39.00, (regularly $149.00) click on this link and use the code PVFAN. You will not regret this purchase!!! I just keep watching them over and over, and learn something new every time.

Canon EOS - Bambi Cantrell — From Weddings to Wow

2010-08-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bambi is an award winning photographer. After looking at her work, I can see why. Her background and mine are very similar, and I love her philosophy when it comes to photography, people vs. landscape and the end of the video when she states what makes a great photographer. She has really made an art form for herself, I'm going to make it a point to study her work to better my own.

Check out her blog too. http://cantrellportrait.com/blog/

Switching Systems

2010-08-09T09:36:00.000-07:00

A fond farewell to my Canon 5D, she has been adopted by a very nice man who even my daughter thought had a remarkable likeness for my father. I'm not kidding I think my father's Doppelgänger (a.k.a the evil twin) lives on the South Hill! Except I didn't get evil vibes from him at all, he was warm and friendly and just an all around nice guy. I'm very happy knowing my beloved camera is now in the hands of a man who will care for her as much, possibly more then I did.

While I could never truly replace the 5D, I mean with her lush full frame sensor, and her beautiful controls in all the right places. She was just to big for me to carry for extended periods of time. I mean you get that 70-200mm f/2.8 lens on her and she is a behemoth! So I opted to switch to another system that will not effect the quality of my work but will effect the quality of my hands and wrists.

I ordered the new system this morning and it should be here by Friday. I'm a nervous wreck! This is the first time in several years I've been with out a camera.... although I do have a film camera I could dust off and use. Maybe thats what I'll do :)

Well I'll have a big reveal on Friday when I get the new gear!

--- sorry about the strange lines in my post I don't know how to get rid of them, when I try and remove them they multiply ^_^

Is Photoshop cheating?

2010-08-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a lady who thought so, I hope you read her thoughts on the subject she makes some really good points.

I am of the school of thought that photography is an art form. There are those who don't do any retouching whatsoever and do some really beautiful work. And there are those who do retouch and do some really beautiful work.

My problem is when people look down on others for using the tool Photoshop. Those that use Photoshop are every bit as good a photographer as those who don't' and to treat those that do as if they are frauds, is just rude.

Photoshop is very much a digital darkroom. The Famous Ansel Adams did 40% of his art work in the Darkroom. His prints did not look like the negatives. So it's very much the same in current times. Mr. Adams is not the only one who manipulated the outcome of his prints, ALL photographers who did their own printing did. Even those who used labs to do their printing, would write out instructions for the lab tech on the dodging and burning they wanted done.

Even the average consumer with their point and shoot film cameras had their prints altered at the point of printing. The printers would enhance the prints to bring out colors and compensate for shadows and blown highlights. Kodak called it Kodak Perfect Touch Technology. Photo manipulation has been going on since the camera was first invented. Photoshop is just the new tool for it. Those that don't use it can continue on their way. I just hope they stop besmirching photographers that do use it. Dave, a guy I know said "The final image is what matters. How I get there is irrelevant. I do as much as I can in camera and take the image to completion in a number of ways."

I use Photoshop to add my own touch to a picture. I don't need to use it, I want to use it. It's how I processes my work that give it the Jennifer Harvey style that so many people enjoy and pay good money for. I am proud of my work, as every person who takes pictures should be. Altered or not, if you are happy with your work then you are not wrong.

Nikole another 15 year old

2010-08-06T16:49:00.000-07:00

I think she is adorable, I love how her hair swoops to the side... Wish mine could do that, sigh... somehow I don't think I could pull this look off as well as she does. Here are a few cute ones from our session.

To make heart shaped bokeh follow this easy tutorial, it's a fun effect.

New Family

2010-08-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

This is my friends Josh and Rhianna and their unborn son Jonah. I'm telling you, you won't find two nicer people. They are absolutely lovely to know and I feel so blessed that I was able to give them these pictures to mark this momentous occasion.

Free Fairy Wallpaper for your desktop

2010-08-03T11:12:00.000-07:00

The model is Jennifer Watts! This is a digital manipulation, far outside of my normal day to day retouching. I hope you enjoy the simple wallpaper and feel free to tell your friends about it too. Unless you want to be selfish and keep it for yourself, thats okay too. Enjoy!

Twilight Givaway winner

2010-08-01T07:12:00.000-07:00

FREE BOOKS

2010-07-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

One more day and I announce the winner! Looks like we have one person in the lead, so I'll bet her chances of winning are pretty solid, leave a comment on this post or the other post and subscribe to my blog thats all you have to do!

Good luck!

Did I tell you it's FREE shipping?

Happy Summer!

2010-07-28T11:27:00.000-07:00

Today my wish for you is to spend some time just enjoying the day! Go do something you find relaxing and revel in it!

Dance, play volley ball on the beach kick up your heals and just have as much fun as you possibly can pack into a single moment! Let yourself dream of your future and make sure you dream big! Leave all your worries behind if only for an hour and you will find, that whatever you are dealing with, whatever is heavy on your heart has an end. It may not end today or even tomorrow but trust me this too shall pass!

Keep a positive attitude and remember what Yogi Raman Said. "Every second you spend thinking about someone else's dreams you take time away from your own.

Happy WEDNESDAY friends!

Bellies and Bumps

2010-07-27T10:50:00.000-07:00

The body of a woman should be held sacred, for inside her a miracle is made. The amazing and beautiful change that takes place is beautiful. Here are a few pictures I've done this past year of some Maternity sessions. I hope you enjoy!

Justin and Allison are ENGAGED!

2010-07-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

We had quite a lot of fun last night, there are so many favorites, here are a few!

I want to give a special shout out to my assistant! Melissa thank you for always being my Johnny-on-the-spot you are terrific to work with and I feel fortunate to have you on my team!

Class of 2011 Congrats Jenniffer B.

2010-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun doing this session, I want to say thank you to Amanda T. for your amazing skills with the makeup brush, and Melissa L. for your ability to grip like no other! Parker for his giggles and grins! And of course the gorgeous and vivacious Jenniffer B. for giving us something beautiful to enjoy.

Here are a few sneak peeks for you!

Free Desk top background or wallpaper

2010-07-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

Last evening while photographing a client, in one of the local parks/garden I had to snap this quick shot of daisy's and I thought it would make a nice background for my computer, so I added an inspirational quote. Feel free to use it on your desktop, I hope it lifts your mood and drives you to achieve bigger and better dreams!
Enjoy!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Twilight Saga Book Giveaway

2010-07-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

I have these books taking up valuable space, so I'm going to give them away!

To enter you must do both of the following:

1. Subscribe to this blog.
2. Comment on this blog (see below this post it says comment) You need to use your real first name
You may comment as many times as you like to increase your chance to win, bonus points if your comments are unique and witty.

I'm not sending anything to the middle east because I don't want to deal with the rules at the post office, So please do not enter if you live in that area of the world. Everyone else I'll send it to you. I"ll pay the shipping. This is a 100% free giveaway!
If you are under the age of 18 I'll need your parent or guardians approval to send these to you So make sure you get permission before you enter to win.
Thats it, thats all you have to do. So what are you waiting for? I'm announcing the random winner on August 1, 2010 right here on the blog and you'll have 48 hours to claim your prize!! Want more details? Watch the video!

I will be using the Random number generator to pick the winner!

Jacqueline You need to subscribe to the blog or you won't qualify!! Hurry you have until midnight 07/31/10

There is a link at the top just under my name, one says posts, the other says all comments, click one and follow the steps! Good luck.

Some snap shots of Jessi

2010-07-23T11:21:00.000-07:00

A week ago a group of my fellow photographers and I got together and decided we should do something outside our comfort zone, so we took a bunch of pretty girls and got a fantastic makeup artist and we made the girls look like they belonged in a slasher movie. I have to tell you it was more fun then we should be allowed to have on a Friday. The pictures turned out great and I'm tempted to post some here on the blog but I'm not sure how well that would go over given the graphic nature of the pictures, granted they are 100% staged.

At any-rate, while Jessie was waiting her turn for the makeup chair we went outside and took some quick snaps. It's really hard to take a bad picture of this gal. Well if you know what you are doing anyway.

Very little editing was done to these, just a boost in the contrast and color correction, a little bit of healing brush and she is good to go. The evening sun is one of my favorite sources of light.

I'd also like to extend a warm welcome to my readers from outside the United States, It's nice to see that my little blog makes it around the globe and to our neighbor up north! I hope you find my blog enjoyable and please subscribe, you never know what I might put up next! What would you like to see?

1. More Pictures
2. A short story I wrote
3. A book burning

You tell me and I'll make it happen!

Have a great Friday !!

Newspaper clipping

2010-07-22T11:28:00.000-07:00

I found this newspaper clipping and thought I would share it with you. This was a very fun and laborious project. I got to work with one of the most talented and funny men in Spokane, I'm speaking of Bill, he is someone I will always admire and love. I have to say that the most rewarding part of this project was meeting the children. They were and are a true inspiration. I hope each and everyone of you get to experience working in your community and knowing you've made a difference no matter how small. Every bit helps.

The models that volunteered for this project were more then we could use. I've got the entire collection on my computer someplace and if you'd like to see it, let me know I'll try and find them and put them online for you. The model in the picture is Danise Rivers (yes thats how she spells her name) I kept this picture for myself because I just love how it turned out. Every one of them is a masterpiece and everyone was pure joy to work with. I love working with real professionals!

Quinceñera

2010-07-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun working with Jackie, her parents drove over 2 hours to my studio so she could have me take her picture for her Quinceñera. I absolutely love this Latin tradition. I find most cultural traditions fascinating. Here are a few of the pictures we captured, just a peek! I hope you enjoy!

Dunning–Kruger effect

2010-07-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Every since I can remember I have been excruciatingly hard on myself. Always seeing what I could have done better and never truly being happy with my work. I always chalked this up to low self esteem. I believe others saw me as a person of low self esteem as well. Well guess what? It's not low self esteem. It this strange phenomenon called the Dunning-Kruger effect. I'm not going to pretend I understand that explanation to a perfect T, but I'll attempt to explain it to you.

Basically an unskilled person lacks the knowledge to know they are unskilled, and because they don't know they suck, they are under an illusion thinking they are really awesome more amazing then a very skilled professional. (ever see the delusional singer who thinks he is awesome, but actually sucks on American Idol?) And the Highly skilled person is under the illusion that they are not as good as they really are.

I know people on both sides of this coin, and let me tell you dealing with the former is no walk in the park. Their truth is so magnificent any form of correction results in an explosive attack to your character. The latter is not easy to deal with either because this person can not see the level of their skill being as good as it truly is, your are constantly feeling like you need to make them feel better.

So I wonder if simply being aware of this effect will solve the problem or if one is damed to live under this illusion?
Here is hoping for a cure!

Profile Pictures

2010-07-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I think I've seen just about every kind of profile picture out there. And for just over a year now, I've had the same profile picture on my social networking sites. It was taken by a true blue friend (Oriana I love you!) and I believe it's one of the best pictures ever taken of me! And when you consider that over the years thats saying quite a lot.

I've seen just about every kind of profile picture out there. The classic cell phone shot done with the help of a bathroom mirror, the self portrait (like mine above) and then ones that have obviously been taken by a professional camera operator (i.e. a photographer). Some of my favorites are ones that are done in a creative way.

I've seen some really horrible attempts too, the ones where people put their own face on slim or hunky body kind of creep my out. But they can be fun and entertaining as well, as long as you tell people hey look at me I'm a bikini model *not*!

So this summer my friend Oriana comes back to town for a visit and she and I are going to have a girls day and do more profile pictures and just have some much needed and much anticipated fun!!

I can't even wait I'm so excited... let the count down begin!

Reserection!

2010-06-29T19:55:00.000-07:00

Wow 2010 has been an amazing year! Lots of growth both in life and spiritually. Guys keep a look out I'll be adding more stuff as the days go by.

Thanks for looking. I know you come here to see pictures, so I'll give you a couple to look at... tomorrow :)

Jessi J.

2009-12-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

A very few of my favoirites, I have so many on my hard drive it's hard to pick just one or two, I'm lucky in that she likes to come see me regularly, It's always a treat to work with her.

Justin and Tori

2009-12-16T19:13:00.000-08:00

A little like Trash the Dress, but not. They had fun once they got going, but getting them to get in the mud was a littl slow. Enjoy!

Class of 2010 Senior Picture Model Wanted for Spokane WA

2009-08-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

I need a 2010 High School Senior to represent Jennifer Harvey Photography!

This is the perfect opportunity for you to earn some amazing senior pictures, its easy too!

Step One: Log onto FaceBook and add me Or MySpace
Step Two: Send me a message saying "I want to be your model" Include your school and you MUST be a class of 2010!

Step Three: Wait until I make my pick of applicants (August 15th at 8PM I will be selecting the winner)
Step Four: Check your inbox on August 16th to see if you won.

To be a winner you must attend a high school that is in the Spokane area, you must be graduating in 2010 and you need to have an outgoing personality.

What you win!

You win a FREE session with the option to purchase prints! But why buy them when you can earn them?
I'm going to give you 50 FREE cards with YOUR picture on them to give out to your friends. When your friends bring them to me, You will receive a $10.00 CREDIT. So If just 10 Friends come in, that's $100.00 in free pictures! IF you just have amazing friends and all 50 come in that would be $500.00 in free prints. That's a lot of prints.

Your free SPOKESPERSON session will last about 3 hours, will include hair and makeup styling and unlimited clothing changes, studio and location! You get the super star treatment all for free!!!!

If you are chosen you have to be available to have your session IN August!

Please only apply if you are serious about getting amazing senior portraits and are willing to tell your Friends about it.

Now go follow steps one through four!!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

We have a winner for the Free Boudoir Session!

2009-07-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Put your hands together for Diane! She was one of the 4 people who followed the directions and left a comment on the blog. I'm always amazed when I post a blog like this and I give the rules of engagement, only to find that people either don't read them or figure the rules don't apply to them. Because my email fills up quickly with people who want to enter and are asking how to enter.

Diane, contact me as soon as you can you have 48 hours to claim your prize!

Congratulations and I can't wait to work with you.

Free Session Giveaway and July Special

2009-07-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

July Special! Get it while I still have appointments available!

*************************************************************************************

I've been busy and yet not busy at all, strange paradox huh? Well I've still been taking pictures but.... none of the ladies wants to let me use her pictures online. To shy I guess, so I'm going to be daring and do this.

I need a real woman who wants a "boudoir" session with me and will sign a model release form so that I may use her photo's online to promote my business, I will give you a FREE session. That's right FREE.

Here's the deal. You have to be a normal lady, not a model, a house wife would be awesome but a wife in general will do. All women are beautiful no mater shape or size. So now is your chance to prove to the world that you don't have to be a tall and skinny to be amazingly beautiful!

Leave your comment below and tell me how much you love your husband/boyfriend/man in your life. The winner will be chosen by a random generator and announced July 10th, Only one comment per person please.

Rule Breaker

2009-06-02T09:17:00.000-07:00

1.Thou shalt not tilt your camera

2. Thout shalt not have thy subject out of focus...

Oooooh I’m a rule breaker!

You better go get the handcuffs and hall me off to that special Jail they have for people who break the “Laws of Photography”, cuz hunny I break those laws almost every day.

I love to look at pictures that have style and zing, pictures that evoke an emotion, any emotion. That are colorful and sparkle. Or have no color but just capture your soul.

Let’s do a mini Art History lesson! That sounds like fun right?

Neoclassicism embodied the very rational nature of the time; if it wasn’t rational then it was not considered correct and was therefore rejected.
In answer to this movement came another known as Romanticism, The movement stressed strong emotion as a source of aesthetic experience, placing new emphasis on such emotions as trepidation (means fear, big word for me too ), horror and awe.
No I’m not saying that photography is exactly like these two movements, but there are similarities. The old school ways of photography follow strict rules and demand every detail be rational. I remember standing along side my mentor, Ms. Pearlman, with my note book and pencil feverishly writing down what not to do when taking pictures. She also said, “Now Jennifer, there will come a time when you will be required to break these rules, but first you must know them and know why we have them, and if you must break them, do so with 100% intent”. I’ve always remembered this and so I’m sharing that pearl (no pun intended Ms. Pearlman) of wisdom with you today.
Yes the old school ways produce technically sound photographs, they are crisp and rational, but for me… lack luster and boring. There some photographers out there who only do this traditional style of photography. Some of them are absolutely appalled at the new generation of rule breakers. Some of them even go so far as to say that to take a picture that breaks one of the traditional rules will result in “crap” (their word not mine) and perceived as “amateurish” (again their word not mine), and that true professionals don’t take pictures like that.
Well, I like so many photographers these days, want style, we want sparkly we want emotion. After all the emotion of the moment is what we want to remember right? I want people that see my work to be swept away and feel the photograph from the inside out rather then just see it with their eyes.
In a recent gander at the internet, I found that photographers these days are all a bunch of rule breakers. And you know what; the public loves them for it.

Don’t believe me, just look up “life Style Photography” in Google and see what you get! It’s a movement baby and if you don’t want to be left behind learn to break a rule or two!

So if you are a traditional photographer and you disagree with me, that’s okay, But I double dog dare you to get out there and break some rules with your camera, Get a lens flair on purpose, tilt your camera and change the composition, underexpose a little, over expose a lot. Jump up and down with the shutter open. Mess with your depth of field! FEEL the picture rather then just take it. Who knows you might like what you get.

It’s art, it’s life, it’s photography
Peace and love

Invest in your face, get a Professional Headshot!

2009-04-14T12:50:00.000-07:00

Invest in your face!

As a model or actor the single most important thing you can invest in is your
face. Or a quality picture of your face rather. I'm talking
headshots people! It's the most important calling card you'll ever have
created. Talent is made and broke by the quality of your
headshot. Casting directors thumb through the stack of headshots and yank
out the ones that pop out at them, taking only seconds to
judge. Trust me you want your picture to pop out at them. You
want to catch their eye, you want to be one of the ones called in for an
audition. If you get called in for the audition, then your headshot
did its job. If you don't get called in for auditions, You're going
to want to rethink that headshot.

"But I don't want to spend the money!".   Well to answer
that,   look at it this way. If you don't want to spend the
money on yourself to insure that you are presenting yourself to your agent
(you're lucky if you have one), casting directors, and talent agencies,
and their clients. Why on earth would you think that they would want to
invest one iota of time in you? Why would they take you seriously if you
don't take yourself seriously?   Think about that for a little bit
will you?    If you are unwilling to invest your hard earned
money into your future, why should they consider you for a commercial,
movie, or print work?   Trust me they won't.

"Oh I can take my own headshot".   Really? I'm a
professional photographer, that means I get out of bed each day and go to work
taking pictures of people and I use the money I get to pay my mortgage and feed
and clothe my family. And I won't take my own headshot. Why?
Because it's really hard to get a good one. Self portraits are incredibly
hard to master and it's best to leave it to the painters. No! I
have a professional take my headshot, so should you.   If you
submit your headshot that you created yourself (in your bathroom) to a
casting director and it is mixed in with actual professional headshots,
how well do you think it will hold its own?    Seriously think
about it.

As a possible actor for a job, directors are looking for people who
look confident, engaged, well groomed and professional.   You are only
going to get that if you invest in yourself and get professional headshots
done. The good photographers in this country charge between $200 and $1000
to give you the headshot that will open doors.    Sure you could
get on Craig's list and try and find a cheep photographer to do the job,
but why would you gamble like that. Think for a moment, if the
photographer is charging less then $100.00 for the headshots, how are they
making money? They are relying on a high volume of people to come
in, witch means your session is going to be rushed, and not
relaxed.   And how much photo prepping are they going to do? It
might be cheap but is it worth it if it doest get you the interview or
audition? The average speaking roll in a commercial pays $400.00.
That alone will pay for your headshots, so it's an investment with a great
payoff.

You want to be an actor or a model? Get the best headshot possible.
Don't skimp and passed over for the less qualified talent with a better
headshot. Be smart and invest in your face.

A good question over Coffee

2009-04-06T08:44:00.001-07:00

“Why are professional Photographers so expensive?” a good friend of mine asked me this very pointed question the other day over coffee. I believe it’s a great question, so great that I shall again address it on my handy dandy Blog.
Many people go to a chain store to get a likeness made, and that is good enough for them. I am not trying to put down the chain stores if that’s the style you like, go for it, I don’t want to stop you from something you feel is worth your money. If you are like my clients though, you are not satisfied with the traditional mug shot style produced in those kinds of stores.

Let me break it down for you.
The people that work in the chain stores are people who needed a job, and most of the times have very little experience even holding a camera. The thing that makes the chain stores work is that they are like fast food. Completely duplicatable (is that a word?). You can go to the store in California and New York and get the same picture, they use the same equipment and same lighting set up and the camera is positioned exactly the same distance. They even have lines on their screens to tell them where the heads go. And they try and crank as many people through as possible, you’re lucky if your picture session lasts 15 min.

They get you in by offering a super low deal like $3.33 for 75 prints. They loose money that way, but they are counting on up selling you on a package that is about 2 to $300.00. Statistics show that 60% of people take the offers and that’s how the money is made. It’s not enough though. In 2007 Wal-Mart closed over 700 of their portrait studios because they just couldn’t make enough profit from them.

Professional photographers are people who have put in long hours of study, practice, practice and more practice. A professional knows what an F/Stop is, and he’s (or she) not afraid to use it. They capture emotion, not just a likeness; they work with you until they have “the picture”. Photography is their passion; it’s what makes their day bright and give them a high that is uncontained by words. You go to a professional photographer because you know that they are going to create a masterpiece that is centered on you.

Think about it, you wouldn’t go to Ford expecting to by a Mercedes! You wouldn’t go to McDonalds expecting Foie Gras and you wouldn’t go to a lemonade stand expect Champaign. The really good stuff comes with a price.

I hear you I hear you hurry up and get to the question! Okay so how does all that tie in to why professional photographers cost so much.

Let’s really get our hands dirty and break it down bit by bit.

For a two hour portrait session:
- one hour of Consultation prior to the shoot (I don’t charge for this)- two hours of shooting- 30 minutes of setup, preparation, talking to the client etc.- 30 minutes to load the photos onto a computer (2 - 4 Gb of data)- 30 minutes to back up the files on an external drive- 3 - 4 hours of Photoshop time including cropping, contrast, color, sharpening, saving a copy for print and a copy for the internet and backing up the edited photographs - 2 - 3 hours to talk to the client, answer questions, receive their order and payment, order their prints, receive and verify prints, package prints, schedule shipment and drop package off at Fed Ex.- For local customers, we also print a set of all of their photos, and meet them at our studio to review the photos and place their order. Meeting and travel time averages 2 hours.
You can see how one two hour session easily turns into more than ten hours of work from start to finish. So when you see a Photographer charging a $200 session fee for a two hour photo shoot, you are not paying them $100 / hour.

For an eight hour wedding:
- I won't bore you with the details, but an eight hour wedding typically amounts to at least two to three full 40 hour work weeks’ worth of time. Again, if they are charging you $4,000 for an eight hour wedding, you are not paying them $500 / hour.

Expertise

I love it when people say things like “your camera takes such good pictures” or “What kind of camera do you use” or “is your camera expensive”. It just makes me smile because the camera you hold in your hands does not make you an expert. Any one can go to an electronics store and by an expensive camera but unless you know how to use it, chances are they guy with the digital pocket camera pictures are going to turn out better then yours. Oh and for those of you who think the green box is all you need! Well you’re in for a great disappointment.
Many photographers take years to make money with their camera. Not only do they invest in a camera but a lot of other things as well, such as, books, lighting equipment, soft wear, computers, and enough equipment and gadgets to fill a one ton truck. Oh and they know how to use it all too. They know how to manipulate light so that the subject looks their best.
When your pay a professional photographer, your buying their expertise!

So in closing, to those of you who made it to then end, thank you for having the endurance to see it through, I hope I’ve answered the question to your satisfaction. My good friend thought it made sense and after coffee, she booked a session with me. Nice surprise for me, even better for her!

Take care,
-Jen

Cob Webs

2009-04-04T19:43:00.001-07:00

Jessi, originally uploaded by Jennifer Harvey.

Okay so don't hate me! I've been busy and my poor blog has been neglected! I hope you don't mind if I dust the cob webs off and start posting again.

I've been working with this girl Jessi for the past few weeks, she keeps me fresh and lets me try new things. Here is one we did this week. I happen to like it!

As far as new things, not a lot is going on. I'm working on a getting my business under control I've hired a personal assistant (wonder if I can get her to do my blog!) and a licensed cosmetologist Looking at more options for my clients and keeping up with the appointments.

I am also restructuring my pricing so that you all get a better deal for your money! I'll try put up more pictures, but you can always go check out my flickr account for a lot more pictures!

Keep it real and have fun!
-Jen

How to Look Good in a photograph

2009-03-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

I know you all want to look good in your portraits, I want you to look amazing. Here is a little video done by my friends over at PhotoJug. They did such a great job I wanted to be sure and share it here with you! Enjoy.

Digital Cameras: User's Guide:How To Look Good In A Photograph

Remember Spokane Photographer Jennifer Harvey specializes in Beauty and Boudoir photography and is also very skilled in Head shots, High School Senior Portraits, as well as baby and intimate portrait photography for couples.

Please please watch this!

2009-02-20T12:40:00.001-08:00

I'm telling you, he pulled this right from my soul! It's a must watch for all my friends and anyone who wants to understand just a small part of me. I really relate to Zack, and he is one of my all time favorite photographers.

It’s “Guest Blog Wednesday” featuring Zack Arias!

Posted using ShareThis

Is photoshop over used?

2009-02-19T19:33:00.000-08:00

Here is Stephanie, and yes I did use photoshop to boots the picture, but nothing like this person can do.
I don't know if it's even ethical to do this sort of thing, I mean, do people want to be this phoshoped? Really? and if they do why?

You be the judge, and if your one that would, can you let me know why please?

My daughters dog

2009-02-17T10:09:00.000-08:00

This is Dolly, and she is the same age as my daughter in human years, She was born the same month and year as my daughter and Julia (my daughter, hehehe I said it again) thinks that is pretty special.

Dolly will sit all day and just look at me with that dumb look on her face. All day long, this is what she does. If I move to another room, she gets up follows me in, and lays down and looks at me with her big brown eyes! At first it would creep me out but after a year of it I'm used to her watchful eye.

I took a couple of pictures of her today because we are afraid Dolly will not be with us much longer. She has some health problems and it's really sad. We are committed to making her life as happy as possible. And since she is most happy watching my every move, I think she's in for a great time.

The black and white one, she almost looks like she is enjoying the camera time.... just almost. She is cute, but she's no poodle! And she is a good dog. We all love her and I'll miss those dumb brown eyes on me all the time.

I was going to tell you all about California and Disneyland, but.... I didn't take my digital camera (kicking myself like crazy, now who's the dummy?) Anyway I'm waiting on my dear sweet sister in law to send me her pictures, then I'll share stories with you! It has all the makings of a great movie, drama, pain, glory, adventure, loss, gain, romance and so much more.... you really don't want to miss it.

Well enjoy our pooch!

Have a great day!

-Jen

My "Waiting Room" Part 2

2009-02-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

Okay so here we are, this is it. The paint is dry, the furniture all well arranged and Jordan and I have a grin from ear to ear, We worked very hard on this, took us a full week of work. We painted every surface we could, except the floor, a few drops did find their way to the floor but overall, it's paint free.
Jordan's design called for the sofa to be in the middle of the room, I actually really love that. See my mind would have (and did) put it against a wall, but see this is why I suck and putting a room together... anyway, Here is a picture of the Vanity Jordan found me on Craig's List, It was a butter yellow color. I would have loved to strip off the paint and refinish the beautiful mahogany wood but didn't have time, so we painted it the same color as the white wall. It turned out better then my childhood dream, and is the perfect place to put all that hair and makeup product that was cluttering up the room. I absolutely love this piece. The other piece is a dresser that we've had for the past 10 years that needed new life. It works well to hold all my office supplies. It too we painted white.

Jordan's' design called for three walls to be deep dark chocolate and one wall a very warm white (who knew white could be warm?) The ceiling we painted the same color as the Maple floor,
We used Red as an accent color and It really pulled the room together, I almost can't believe this is the same room. I feel bad because the pictures don't do it justis (what can I say I'm a people only type of a photographer!)

Jordan did well in making sure the room was girly but not overly so, The guys don't have a problem relaxing and the gals love it too so I'm very happy with the result.

We used a lot of things I already had, the coffee table was a desk and we cut the legs down, I hated the desk but love the table, it rocks!

So I'd love to invite you guys to come see the finished room! There are a lot of funny stories about the making of the room and most of them would be ruined if I tried to write them down, Jordan's a writer too so maybe I'll tackle him down and make him write them.

Anyway come on over take a look and stay for a portrait!

I'm off to California next week so don't expect much in the way of the blog.

Have fun, be safe and God bless!

My Studio Greeting room part 1

2009-02-03T09:21:00.000-08:00

I have to admit, I'm no decorator, I lack the ability to walk into a store and put things together in a fashionable way. I look at the rows upon rows of pillows and nick-knacks and find myself lost among the choices. My palms get sweaty and my knees turn to jello, my blood runs cold and I just want to hide in the darkest corner I can find and go imaginary happy place.

So I went looking for a designer. I put an add on Craig's List, and got a lot of responses, People came and talked a good talk, they all measured the room and took notes, to what kind of a room I wanted, and they all (9 people in all) said "I'll put something together and give you a call early next week to set up a time to bring it by and show you." Well only 3 of them actually followed through. And I didn't like any of their designs. The other six people never called. I guess they got overwhelmed too. Seriously! look at what they had to work with, it's like a room from a bad horror movie.

After a month of disappointment, I was just about to give up and resign myself to having to do it myself, I didn't know how or what I would do but something had to be done, I just can't have greeting room like this. I hated coming here everyday and hated even more meeting clients here. It's just horrible.
Then I got a phone call.... he said his name was Jordan and wanted to know if I had found a designer yet, I kinda rolled my eyes and said to my self "here we go again". I told him to come on over and he did, He sat and listened to me, I didn't see him taking notes so I was a little sceptical, But he sat and listened and showed me work he had done for another lady. He took some pictures of the room with his cell phone you are looking at them actually. He didn't have a tape measure so he didn't measure the room. He said "I'll put something together and give you a call early next week to set up a time to bring it by and show you." wow have I heard that before! So I thanked him for coming and figured... well I guess I better put on my big girl shoes and go into the scary decorating store. If it's going to happen I guess I'm the one that's going to do it.

Well, then next day.... a very rude lady called me and wanted to design my room, but I found her pretentious, condescending and very very rude, so I told her thanks but no thanks. And I said a little prayer that Jordan would please call me back and not flake like the others.

A few days later, Jordan called and said he had a design, I was glad too, because I really was shaking with fear at the thought of doing it myself. So he came over showed me his design. And I knew he was the one, He listened to everything I had said, he incorporated a lot of the things I already had and designed the room to have the look and feel that I wanted. I tell you, he's a good listener, that's rare for a guy. His girlfriend is one lucky girl!

I hired him on the spot and I went with him to buy the paint, because that was the first thing we would have to do. Funny thing when we went to the paint counter I was surprisingly calm, I didn't have to choose the paint, he did it all.. It was almost fun!

The room is now finished and I can't wait to tell you all the stories about it, It was great working with Jordan and I would have any of you hire him and I'm sure you would be thrilled with him.

Stay tuned for part 2

Spokane Valentines Day Special

2009-01-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Check it out friends, here is my special for Valentines, click on the picture above to see the larger picture.
If you've been wanting to get pictures done of you and your sweetheart, trust me now is the time. I can't believe what a great deal your getting for only $100.00! Be careful, Don't let this one sell out on you, because once I'm booked, I'm booked and then it's all over.

Call me! no really, pick up the phone and call.

New Years Day

2009-01-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

What did I do yesterday? Well I did a lot and yet not much at all. I had a lovely Breakfast with my husband, I made giant biscuits, (from scratch) and I took some nice photo's of them too. Then later on we went to our favorite coffee shop, You should go too. It's Coffee Social and they have the best coffee in town (all organic) and they are not pretentious, you all know how much I hate pretentious. Anyway the coffee us great and everyone there is just as nice.

After coffee (I had tea, he had coffee) I met with several interior decorators to go over options for my office. So far I've heard lots of great ideas and I can't wait to see what they work up to show me. I hope the decision is not going to be a hard one!

Today is business as usual, 2009 look like it's going to be a really great year.

I want to take a moment to Thank all the people that made 2008 an awesome year. To each and everyone of you that came to me for my services, THANK YOU, I can not tell you how much I appreciate your patronage. Without you I would probably be working behind some boring desk, depressed beyond belief. Without you, I would not know the joy of making children laugh, or the happy giggles from ladies after a makeover. I truly am living my dream and it's all thanks to you. I'd hug you all (and we know I'm not a hugger) I really would. So for the record 2008 Thank you from the bottom of my heart, You were all wonderful and I can't wait to see you again in 2009.

Have a wonderful Day!

Young and in love

2008-12-29T09:09:00.000-08:00

Last year I had the honor to photograph this beautiful couple for their 1st wedding anniversary, and this year they came back for their second anniversary. Next year I'd like to just grab them on a sunny summer day and go outside and have a blast. The snow is great ... well the summer is better.

New Years is coming!!!!! What are you doing to celebrate?
I think my husband and I are going to go out if I can get someone to watch our daughter.

There's no Christmas without Jesus

2008-12-25T14:25:00.000-08:00

There's no Christmas without Jesus,
It's to Him our eyes should see.
Not to jolly old Saint Nicholas
Nor a glitt'ring Christmas tree!
Shops in town are decorated
Decked in colors bright and gay
Tinsel lights and shapes created
Merge into one grand display.

"There's no Christmas without buying
Gifts and toys to give," they say.
Oh, that they should be realizing
All these things will fade away!
Santa Claus is just a story
Reindeer never pulled his sleigh.
Why then, does he get the glory
On this sacred, holy day?

But a baby in a mangerReally lived in Israel:
He was born to be our Savior
It's His story we must tell!
I will think of Christ this Christmas,
How He left His throne above,
Gave up all His heav'nly riches
For to manifest His love!
Take the tinsel and the glitter
And the 'Santas' all away
For God's love is far, far greater
Than this man-made grand display!
~ author unknown ~

Worry Warts!

2008-12-22T10:58:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much for your love and support, I've been unable to blog due to many factors but all the emails and phone calls really lifted my spirits and I finally feel I'm in a place where I can continue with my normal life.

I've kept myself busy in spite of myself. So I have a lot of pictures to blog, I may spend the day getting them on here just so you can see I have not been slacking. I'm going to go in random order, it's more fun that way I think :)

This is Melissa. She does quite a bit of modeling and actually found me by accident, she saw one of my exhibits here in Spokane. She said she liked my style and wanted to add it to her portfolio. You know me, have camera ready and willing.

We thought it would be fun to do some crazy hair and gauze. And we added some feathers and called it good! It was an absolute joy to work with her, such a nice girl and the camera loves her. I took hundreds of pictures. These here are her favorites.

I would I picked some different ones and I still will, but for now since these are done, I'll share them with you.

I really like the one of her and her boyfriend together, To me he looks like he is hungry for her, and she looks like she wouldn't mind a nibble.

I do so enjoy these type of shoots, I wish to do more of them, not for everyone but it's really fun to try new things and the results are worth it!
Have a happy Monday!

-Jen

Sneek Peak for Tina

2008-11-17T20:41:00.000-08:00

Today was so much fun! Tina wants to surprise her husband with a gift only she can give! Pictures of herself! So we had a lot of fun today doing different outfits and hair and even wild makeup, well if the pictures were in color it would look wild that's for sure.
Our makeup artist today was the lovely and talented Amanda Lloyd. It's always a pleasure to work with people a second time around!

Well Tina here you go, feel free to leave comments and once we are done with the second half of the session on Wednesday I'll show you all your pictures at once! I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Girl with a mission

2008-11-12T07:10:00.000-08:00

Baby girl here, is an absolute doll and while she is actually trying to avoid having her picture taken, I love this one anyway. Don't worry I did get a few of her smiling, which is good because her mom said that she had no pictures of her baby with a smile on her face. This child will grow up and give her momma thousands upon thousands of smiles. I want to say a special thanks to Lysa for allowing me to experiment with her daughter. It was fun and I like the results (your looking at one of them). That's all for now folks.