Giving Back: Easter Portraits

I always love it when other photographers share tips and tricks, so I plan to do the same from time to time here on the JAZ Photography Blog. Not at ALL that I think I have it all figured out! But from the land of "what I think I know", I'll try to share some information and inspiration now and then. ;0)

Volunteering is important to me, and there's a silver lining with doing volunteer photography work: you get all kinds of experience! I've done things like family portraits for Candlelighters' Family Camp, event coverage for Lane Pregnancy Support Center and Wild Ones Youth Ranch, and all kinds of projects at church (from VBS coverage to staff pics for the web site to brochure pics...). Today I thought I'd share an idea that some of you, my fellow photography obsessed people, might want to try...

Easter Portraits! I teamed up with another photographer at church, and we gathered a crew to do Easter Portraits for guests at our church on Easter. We thought, "Hey, everyone's already all dressed up, so the timing would be perfect!" We took over the conference room and turned it into a "studio" for the day. No special lighting or anything, other than wax paper taped over the overhead fluorescent lights. ;0) We just borrowed furniture and decor from here and there--the Parent's Sitting Room at church, some people in the church, etc., and created a neutral living room-esque background so everyone's beautiful Easter outfits could take center stage!

If you're a photography enthusiast looking for some experience, and especially if you're interested in portraiture, you could try this out in your own church. Depending on your skill level, you may want to team up with another photographer. Maybe you could do portraits for Mother's Day, or Father's Day, or Christmas! Our church printed an 8X10 as a gift for all of our guests. My biggest piece of advice if you decide to try this out: Do a trial run!

Stay tuned for lots more ideas on giving back while simultaneously getting experience, and also for some "how to" posts and such, like how to use a reflector, how to elicit that perfect smile from ten kids under five at the same time, etc. ;0)

Family: The A's

The A's are good friends of ours. Craig is in leadership at our church, and Jamie sings in the Worship Band. They're the kind of people that just ooze comfortableness! Their home is open to everyone, all the time. There's always good food, and good conversation. She's my flea market buddy, and one of those on my short list to call when I need a pick-me-up. They're just awesome, down home people, and I adore 'em!!

Jamie picked a gorgeous park that is filled with magnolias in full bloom for their session. We just romped around and played with sticks, snakes, and flower petals for an hour:
























This session was my way of saying thanks to Craig for bailing us out a while back when one of our pipes sprung a leak. If you need any plumbing done, I highly recommend him!

Anyone wanna swap some finish carpentry work for photos? House keeping? Anybody...? ;0)

2010 HS Senior: Mistie

Mistie and her family moved here from Texas, and they are a treasured addition to our church family! Mistie was right in the mix from the beginning, helping out with VBS and anything else she was asked to do. She will be sorely missed when she heads off to Houston Baptist next year!

She told me she wanted a country-ish feel for her Senior Photos, so we headed down to the little town where my Mom grew up, and was even a Rodeo Queen back in the day. We ran around town a bit, and then finished up at my Grandma's old place, where my Mom has been doing some work and was waiting for us with tea. It was a perfect way to spend one of the first truly warm evenings of the year!

The extraordinary lighting in these photos is owing to Heather coming along and being the "Reflector Girl" once again. Thanks, Heather!

When you see Mistie, you'll have to ask her where we found these beautiful yellow flowers:














I caught Mistie and Heather in this one:



















Stay tuned for Part II in August! Mistie's best friend from Texas is coming out for a visit, and I get to have both of them in front of my camera!

Thanks so much for trusting me with your Senior Photos, Mistie! I hope you love them as much as I do!!

First, Some Favorites!

Welcome to the JAZ Photography Blog! I've decided it's high time to separate my photography posts from my scrapbook-ish family blog posts, so here we have it: the JAZ Photography Blog. I thought I'd kick things off with a post featuring a smattering of some favorite captures from the last year or so: