Behind the Scenes: Cascades Humane Society Pet Portrait Contest & Graphic Design

A Facebook group I'm in suggested doing a "behind the scenes" post. I thought the idea was awesome, but I didn't know what I wanted to show especially since I don't own a studio, so you'd pretty much be getting a photo of me sitting on my bed with the dogs working on my computer lol. But then I figured I'd share a little bit of what I'm doing at the moment instead.

The Cascades Humane Society is hosing a pet portrait contest. You sign up for a time slot and bring at least one 10lbs bag of dog/cat food, then Carrie from Freeland Photography does a mini session for your pet, and voting will open on March 10th. I'm going to enter Piglet because he's such a cutie and an awesome model. I'm really excited to have someone else photograph Piglet, he's only worked with two other photographers besides me and Carrie's work is beautiful. It'll be cool to see Pig through someone else's eyes. If you're interested in entering your pet here's the Facebook Event page with all the information.

School has also been a big consumption of my time currently. We started off the semester with two big projects: a company identity redesign & personal identity. For the company redesign we had to draw names out of a bag, at first I drew Roto Rooter!! We were able to put it back once and draw again, so I did and got ACE Hardware. I wasn't too excited about it to begin with, but like everything else there are things we don't want to do, but have to. And I figure I can't pick my clients when I get a graphic design job so I got to work. At first I didn't want to do anything that was too "hardware store," so I went the playing card route. I used the different suits, but just wasn't satisfied. Then I tried mixing the diamonds to make it look like a screw head and that didn't work either, so I drew a hammer and came up with the solution below. 

The personal identity one was much harder because I'm so indecisive about colors and how I want things to look. I mean, I look back at my photography logo and it's changed SO much. I just like too many things lol, which obviously isn't good for branding. You recognize Target and places like that because their branding is so strong and repeated in everything they do. I'm really happy with this logo, so I'm going to stick with it for awhile (*fingers crossed*). 

What to Wear Wednesday | Jackson, MI Photographer

Time to throw one out there for the guys! This would be perfect for a senior session.  Now, I'm not saying rush out and buy everything I just posted, just consider the styling, color combination of the pieces and how a little goes a long way.

FEATURED VENDOR {Tough Love MPD}

Tough Love MPD: Hair & make-up artistry.

Promoting vanity one face at a time.

I met Taryn when in 2005 while I was going to college at Eastern Michigan University. We ended up being housemates in a house near campus that more resembled MTV's Real World than what I had anticipated. The lease ended and everyone went their separate ways and through the magic world of the internet we ended up being reconnected. She was just starting to develop her business Tough Love MPD and I was just starting to take photography seriously. Ever since we lived together I was in love with her gorgeous red hair (seriously you need to see it, I don't think there's such thing as a bad hair day in her life), so I messaged her and asked if she minded modeling for me. Of course she agreed, so the rest is history.

Taryn, owner of ToughLove MPD

Weddings & Makeovers

Halloween/Costume

 Seniors

I've been lucky enough to watch her business grow leaps and bounds in the years since I've known her. Taryn's skills astonish me, I wish I could do my own make-up half as good as she does. Her work is very versatile too! She can do weddings, costume, everyday, airbrush...practically anything. Her work has been seen in Fashioned in Hell, the Ypsi Style Fashion Show, the catalog at Fantasy Attic Costumes, MakeupGeek.com, The Ann, and many more places across Michigan.

She's the first person I recommend to anyone looking to get hair/makeup services!

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Taryn_mx@yahoo.com

Amanda Holloway Seminar

I had the amazing privilege of hearing Amanda Holloway speak on Tuesday evening. If you haven't seen or heard of her, I highly recommend checking out her website. Amanda only photographs seniors and does one heck of a job at it! She's been doing this for just about a year and has grown tremendously. She shoots, does workshops and mentor programs in Texas, and she travels spreading her knowledge; what doesn't she do?! Monday's talk was mostly about marketing, which I think every photographer needs to take some sort of class in. When I was in college for photography, they didn't require even a single marketing/business class, so when I started my business I had no idea how to even get the word out about my work. Seeing how far Amanda has come in such a short amount of time is a huge inspiration. I've gained so much knowledge in the short three hours I heard her talk and I can't wait to start using it! Now, I just need to find the time to sit down at the computer and get things done lol. Also, I loved how down to earth she was. She showed us photos she did from when she started out and how far she's come. It was truly amazing.

I try to stress the fact that there's a difference between a professional photographer and someone that just takes snapshots....it's education. I went to school for photography, that's what I have a degree in. I've also gone to numerous seminars and had various learning opportunities. Some photographers are self taught and that's completely awesome if they've gone about it the right way. Most of them have also done TONS of research into the field and really studied hard to get to where they are. Amanda's work just goes to show that if you work hard at what you want, you can do absolutely anything!!

What to Wear Wednesday | Jackson, MI Photographer

Coordinating outfits is all about those few select items that just jump right out. You don't want everyone wearing one, but done right and in moderation, it can really make the portrait without looking too cheesy. Below is an example of a semi-muted color palette, with just a taste of something wild. The neon handbag and shoes just add that little umph to send this over the top! Now, I'm not saying rush out and buy everything I just posted, just consider the styling, color combination of the pieces and how a little goes a long way.

Purple with Neon Green2 by nattyjphotography featuring long sleeve silk shirts

New, New & News | Jackson, MI Newborn Photographer

There are some things that you just can't resist in life...one of mine just happens to be newborn props. They're just so tiny and cute...and things miniaturized just for them! So of course I had to get some new items for the new year and there's some stuff that I bought towards the end of last year and didn't get to use that often, if at all. That's a whole lot of new :) I won't post pictures of the items until I get to use them, but I'll drop some hints: gentlemen, girly girls and earthy. You'll just have to wait to see what I mean!!

But in the meantime, I've got some pretty sweet news to share...I sold my first piece on Etsy!! I'm sure you remember reading awhile ago that I started an Etsy Store, Something Tangled Studios. In it, I've listed some small crochet pieces and a few of my landscape photographs. Well, yesterday someone bought The Loyal and it went all the way to Washington (I'm in Michigan). How cool is that?! Okay, maybe not as cool to you, but I think it's fabulous lol.

Baby It's Cold Outside | Jackson, MI Infant Photographer

I haven't ran a contest in quite awhile and I think it's about time! There will be two winners this time, one from each category; newborn to one year old and one year to two years old. What will YOU get?! Winners will receive a portrait session FREE of charge (a $120 value). Prints will be available for purchase, but there is no obligation to buy. So here's the rules:

• Your baby must be between newborn (or due in the next month) and 2 years old.
• To enter, post the photo of your child on my Facebook wall with their age. If you're pregnant, post your adorable pregnant belly with your due date :)
• Photos need to be submitted by midnight on February 8th. Voting will begin on the 9th at noon.
• Image with the most "likes" will win. If there's anyone using a like generator you will automatically disqualified.

What to Wear Wednesday | Jackson, MI Photographer

I absolutely love this, I got the idea to do the What to Wear Wednesday from a photographers group on Facebook. I thought it would be fun, especially since I always get asked the question, "What should I wear for my session?" So here's the first week!! The 2012 Pantone Color this year is Tangerine Tango, so I wanted to start off right by embracing the lovely color. I don't know about you, but I adore orange! Below are some easy outfits (perfect for an engagement or high school senior session) you can put together to make your photos just pop. Now most of the stuff listed might be a little on the high price side (what can I say, I have expensive tastes lol), but you could easily find something comparable to what's in the picture.

casual orange accents by mirapaigew featuring flat shoes

Men's Gray with Orange Accents by nattyjphotography featuring unisex shoes