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April 30, 2008 - random rainy day stuff
It's a grey, rainy, windy day here, so I'm finishing up indoor projects today. Here's the one I finished first thing:
My first ever from-scratch proper cheesecake!
It wasn't hard to make, there was just a lot of waiting time while it cooled - overnight, actually. This morning I put the strawberries and glaze on top. Can't wait for my husband to get home so I can finally eat it!
April 28, 2008 - boudoir - with a gun!
I love it when girls bring their own props! I had an awesome time yesterday shooting a boudoir with a very beautiful girl. She brought a rifle, a deck of cards and a box of poker chips to use in the shoot. Totally awesome!
Unfortunately for you, my lovely readers, the photos are a surprise for her fiance, so I'm not going to share any identity-revealing ones here until I'm given the go-ahead. But maybe a detail shot will satisfy for now?
April 22, 2008 - more goodness
I've received some recent shipments o' goodness lately - THREE new seamless paper backdrops from the lovelies at Vistek and a couple of new 5x7 red leather TAP albums that, if I do say so myself, are pretty sexy. And at just $200, how can you go wrong?
Photos coming soon!
I'm shooting in Lloydminster tomorrow night and have some stuff up this weekend, so the photos will be back in full force soon!
Also - am getting new hair this weekend, and I'll try to do some new self portraits - maybe with my new seamless paper! Fun fun!
April 18, 2008 - mommy moment
If you're a mom and you're not reading dooce.com, well, why not?
I swear, if it wasn't for Heather Armstrong and her sometimes heartbreakingly honest posts on motherhood, I wouldn't be half the mother that I am. Let's face it - we mothers are a bunch of liars. We sugar coat everything to everyone but our closest friends and family. We're not often honest with each other because we're afraid of being seen as a failure by another mother.
The great thing about Dooce is that it documents the daily trials of motherhood, the good and the bad, so that when I'm picking the megablocks up off the floor for the fifth time that day, chasing a two year old down the hall because she's snatched my stapler - again - or wiping ink from a stolen pen off of a chubby little leg, I know that every other mother out there has moments like that, too.
Why are you still here? Go read some Dooce!
P.S. She takes some good photos, too.
April 16, 2008 - cute as a button!
I might be a little biased because her brother is my daughter's best friend, but I think seven month old Rhiana is the cutest thing ever! You might have seen Rhiana's newborn photos back in August, I did some natural light candids for fun. My, how she's grown! I saw her two weeks ago and she was barely sitting on her own, now she pushes herself to a sitting position and army crawls like crazy!
A few favorites from today's session ...
April 15, 2008 - 24: the photographer's version
Ever wonder what happens once I leave your wedding? Well, here's a breakdown of the next 24 hours or so, using a fictional wedding's timeline.
10:00 p.m.: Leave from wedding in Lloydminster. 11:00: Stumble in the door of the house, loaded with gear from the car. 11:30: Download CF cards onto my computer. 12:30 a.m.: Burn files to DVD; verify DVD. 1:00: Sleep fitfully, dreaming of proofing images. 8:30: Wake to the sound of my daughter. "Ma! Mama! MAMA!" 8:35: Stumble out of bed, change diaper, make a bottle and turn on the Elmo DVD. 8:45: Make first pot of coffee. 8:55: Pour first cup of coffee. (Note: a Jennifer Jacula Photography official coffee cup holds approximately four servings of coffee.) 9:00: Begin proofing pictures - deleting duplicates and the ones that just didn't work out. Hey, even pros take a bad shot every now and then. 10:30: Finished first run through of RAW files. Convert remaining files to JPG to expedite further editing. 11:15 - 8 p.m.: Edit photos, doing basic work on most and creating finished files from a few favorites. 8 p.m. - 10 p.m.: Prepare favorites for blog and for initial uploading to client gallery. Write blog entry and add photos, upload to blog and to client gallery.
So what does that workflow look like? A friend of mine, Stefanie Pletscher of SP Photo in Campbell River, B.C., once did a detailed workflow post on her blog so people could see what kind of work she does to create a finished image. I thought it was a great idea, so I am stealing it!
One of the main differences between a professional digital camera and a consumer point-and-shoot is that a professional camera - a DSLR - gives you a basic canvas upon which to work. It allows the photographer to choose the level of saturation of the colors, the skin tones, and pretty much every other choice available. In short, it allows a photographer to mangle the pixels however the photographer chooses. A consumer mangles the pixels automatically - and as anyone who has used a point-and shoot-knows, it doesn't always mangle them correctly!
This is one of my favorite pictures from Brad & Wendy's wedding last weekend. It was pretty good straight off of the camera (what photographers refer to in shorthand as SOOC), but a little bit of work makes it awesome!
SOOC: I didn't do any adjustments to the RAW file on this
particular image, as it was really quite good SOOC. This
is the basic canvas I have to work with - it's a little
flat and a little dull, but with a little work, I can
create a beautiful masterpiece.
Here it is after converting it to a JPG file and running a slight unsharp mask on it, to add some depth.
Here it is after what I call a "color pop" - essentially, a series of adjustments designed to bring out the color and skin tones and add depth to the image.
Finally, I add a vignette to the image to make Brad and Wendy really pop. Go ahead, scroll up to the first SOOC image and then back down to this one - amazing, eh?
This image was a not a hard one to finish - other images can take a lot more effort! The digital age has forced photographers to not only be great photographers, but to be photoshop gurus as well, and the post-processing work is as much a part of a photographer's style as the pressing of the shutter and the initial capturing of the image.
April 14, 2008 - the average Canadian wedding ...
Some interesting statistics from Wedding Bells magazine via the Professional Photographers Association - British Columbia's magazine InFocus (and my friend Stef), regarding what Canadian couples spend on their wedding photography. Something to think about!
On average, couples
expect to pay $1,670.
50% will make a
decision 12-7 months before the wedding, 14% more than 12
months before, 12% less than 5 months before.
April 9, 2008 - do it for her
I'm a lucky, lucky woman. Really. I am.
Why, you ask?
Nearly everyday, I thank my lucky stars that I have a job that allows me, for the most part, to work from home, so that even while I'm working, I'm being a mom. If you come out to our country studio for a photo session, you might get to meet her, and if you hang out with me for a day while I'm shooting your wedding, or even just a portrait shoot on location, you'll probably hear me mention my daughter at least once. Truth is, if I don't talk about her, I'll miss her too much while I'm away from her.
Photography's certainly not the easiest job in the world. It's certainly not the easiest job I've ever had - I'm my own boss and I must say, I'm a slave driver. I'm relentless in my pursuit of perfection, I don't pay over time and there's no Christmas bonus. However, the coffee is excellent.
I try to work mostly during naptime or after my daughter goes to sleep at night, and I'm often working late into the night or into the wee hours of the morning, editing photos and working on marketing materials and doing my book work and answering e-mails.
Often, I end up having to work a bit while she's awake, so she's decided that she shares my office with me. She has her own little table and chairs (usually it's right next to my desk) and she steals my pens and paper out of the printer and draws pictures. She also steals the phone and pretends to be very busy and important while she makes some calls. When she can, she absconds my day timer. I suspect she's mocking me.
(Please forgive me - it's slightly messier than usual in this photo. I still need to pick up a filing cabinet, drawer unit and new desk chair, but haven't made it to IKEA yet! I also hung my curtains shortly after this shot was taken ... I'll put up another office picture once all the furniture is in and the curtains are hemmed and ironed!)
When I'm away from home working, whether it's just for a few hours or all day, I know when I open the door, my little girl will come running to me with her arms outstretched saying "Mama! Mama!" in her sweet little voice, and all the missing her will almost be worth it, just to see her smile and feel her chubby little arms around my neck. Then she'll babble away and tell me all about what she did while I was gone, and even though I only understand about one word in ten, I'll let her take my hand and lead me away to play Mr. Potato Head or Barbie or she'll coerce me into dancing with her - which, when you're a two year old, mostly consists of jumping up and down and/or spinning in circles. Sometimes she'll boss me to "Sit! Sit!" and I will sit beside her and color a picture with her crayons, making up for the moments I missed during the time I was gone.
I love what I do. Being a photographer rocks, my clients totally rock and sometimes, it's really nice to get away for awhile and have meaningful conversations with adults.
But at the end of the day, I do it for her.
Wouldn't you?
(Shot in my office using available light, no post-processing work. Also, apparently, no hair-brushing. Teehee. Her eyes really are that blue!)
April 7, 2008 - Brad & Wendy's wedding - it's spring time in Alberta!
When Brad & Wendy chose April 5 for their wedding date, they knew they were gambling with mother nature. After all, April in Alberta can be shorts and flip flops weather, umbrella and galoshes weather or a full-on blizzard.
Guess which one they got??
They day started out beautifully - a little chill to the air, but nothing a bunch of tough Canadians would complain about. The girls got their hair and make up done at The Hair Studio in downtown Lloydminster. The studio owner and hair dressers and make up gal were awesome! So great to work with!
Wendy under the dryer
Busy salon!
Without hair or make up, Wendy is naturally gorgeous!
I snapped bridesmaid Janet snapping Wendy getting her hair done
Wendy checking out her hair
Getting flower approval from Ashley, Kelly and Alyssa
Then we headed back to Brad & Wendy's place for the girls to finish getting ready! Wendy's dress was beautiful, ivory with this incredible lace detailing, and it fit her perfectly! Wendy's dress was from Bridal by Chan in Lloydminster, and the bridesmaids dresses were from Ooh La La in Lloydminster.
Wendy's dress and eggplant-coloured shoes
Wendy showing off the goods
The ladies, admiring the bride
The ring and Wendy's bouquet
The ladies, just before leaving the house.
Once the girls were ready, we headed over to Lakeland College for the formal photos before the ceremony. It started snowing as soon as we started shooting the formals, so we didn't get to use the lovely college grounds as much as I would have liked. Next time!
Brad, seeing Wendy in her dress for the first time. He had eyes only for her!
Wendy, checking out Brad in his tux - she started glowing as soon as she saw him!
A kiss on the stairwell.
The guys, being all Blue Steel on the stairs.
Big wedding party! Outside, just as it started to snow lightly ... it didn't stay light for very long!
The guys
The cake, flowers added by the lovely Carmen, who is Brad's sister and who will also be one of my June brides! You might remember Carmen and Brody's engagement session from a month or so ago - it was great to see Carmen and Brody again and meet the whole crew - I look forward to seeing you all again soon!
Stealing a moment inside the reception location.
Dancing, with shadow ...
Back outside in the snow! This is against a giant mural that's just outside the Lakeland College gymnasium. It was a fun backdrop! Isn't she beautiful?
They were cuddling to stay warm, teehee.
The guys, trying to peek down Wendy's cleavage. Obviously, the two guys in the front were behaving themselves - that's the best man on the right and the only married groomsman on the left. Good boys!
Cosby hands! The guys thought up this one all on their own. I think they had too much time to come up with crazy ideas while they were skeet shooting earlier in the day! Super fun group of guys!
Brad and his harem of lovely ladies. Clockwise from bottom left, Lisa, Kelly, Ashley, Janet, Chelsea and Alyssa. Took me a long time to learn everyone's names, but I've got them now!
Salut!
The rings were beautiful, simple and so elegant.
A little vintage processing for this one.
We went back to Brad & Wendy's for a quick snack before heading out to the church. They got some awesome dry ribs and salad from Spiro's, and they fed me, so now I really love them!
Brad got a little assistance with his suspenders from Ashley.
The ceremony was held at St. John's Anglican Church and it was packed to the gills with family and friends! They were even seating people in the choir box because they ran out of room in the pews. There's definitely a lot of love and support for Brad and Wendy!
It's a digital world!
Wendy and her proud papa, Kevin.
Hey! You guys are supposed to be paying attention to the Reverend!
They shared a lot of smiles during the ceremony.
With this ring, I thee wed ...
Their first kiss as husband and wife
Mr. and Mrs. Brad Macnab!
April 4, 2008 - the lovely and super-fun Patricia
A couple of weeks ago I had a great time with Patricia doing some surprise boudoir photos for her husband of 11 years. He is a lucky, lucky man! Patricia was totally awesome, has the best lingerie ever and was up for any of my crazy poses and ideas. There are literally a hundred more great shots from the shoot. It was fantastic!
Patricia was kind enough to let me share a few of the tamer shots on the blog. Thanks Patricia!
April 3, 2008 - site redesign is underway!
I started with a fab new logo from my friend Bob, who is a great photographer in England who also happens to be a brilliant designer. He's got me thinking with a British accent and swearing like a Brit and drinking tea - well, I was a tea drinker anyway. Anything with caffeine, really. And even though he doesn't like Love, Actually or share my obsession with Colin Firth, I like him anyway. He does great work!
And this is how the site is looking ... so far. Bob's also been helping me with a bit of advice on the design. I need to give him a raise. Or at the very least, I should stop calling him a wanker and a tosser. I can't help it! They're just fun words to say!
So of course, along with the redesign (which, not coincidentally, also incorporates the new paint colors of my studio, office and kitchen), I'm working on new business cards and brochures and packaging and all that fun stuff that I love nearly as much as photography!
However, I've got a wedding in Lloydminster this weekend, so the redesign probably won't be finished until late next week - I'll be busy proofing photos! So check back starting Sunday to see my favorites, which I'll post up on the blog.
Speaking of - next month (May 12) is this blog's first birthday - what should I do to celebrate??
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Jennifer Jacula
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All text, images, and photographs are (c) Copyright Jennifer Jacula.
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