Oh the Places You'll Go | Jackson, MI Photographer

It's only 16 days into 2012 and I've been working on some pretty BIG things for the business. Once everything is done I will launch it all at once, but for now you've got some time to book at the 2011 prices. I've restructured my prices to meet everyone's needs, I have to thank you if you participated in my Facebook questions. I really took those into consideration when I did the prices. I've gotten rid of some products that weren't so popular and added some new things that I think you'll like! After designing a wedding album for one of my clients last year I've decided to add an album to almost every wedding collection. I am so excited about that one!! The albums are gorgeous and people swoon over them, the client I did the album for last year said all of her friends and family LOVE their album.

I've also reworded my contract, I'm getting with a lawyer soon to have them go over wording to make sure everything is legit. They're prettier (the perks of going back to school for graphic design) and laid out more effectively. Plus, I've added a "first contact" questionnaire to get to know you better, so I can focus my photography to be more suitable for your needs.

My website is under reconstruction as well!! I've pretty much looked at every aspect of my business and have given it an overhaul. The site is designed out already, now I just have to do all the html code for it...aka the hard part. It shouldn't be too bad, but in the meantime the old site will be up so you won't see any difference until it officially launches. It's going to be SO pretty (once again, the perk of being a design student), I wish I could post it right now, but coding takes a decent chunk of time, so unfortunately I can't. But trust me, I will make sure that everyone knows when it's finally done :)

Now for some AWESOME changes to Natty J Photography...I'M OFFICIALLY A REGISTERED BUSINESS!! Which means a lot more paperwork for me, BUT I'm SO excited about it. It was always my dream to own my own business growing up and now it's finally true :) Call me a nerd, but I can't wait to get my tax ID in the mail and file taxes and do all the business things. I've also got a Square so now I can take payments or deposits via credit or debit cards WITHOUT having to go through Paypal. I've had way too many issues with them and I don't want to put any of my customers at risk so, that's why I've choose to go with Square. They sent me a device so I can swipe cards right from my phone, or I can punch in the numbers for out -of-state clients. The last business item I've updated is my business cards. I ordered them from Moo.com, an amazing company with ultra cute items and GREAT customer service. Keep an eye out for the new ones :)

Lastly, I don't know if you've seen them, but I've seen lots of posts on Facebook lately about families getting their portraits done and one parent losing their life shortly after or they didn't have photos done and a family member's life was cut short leaving them with outdated photos as their only memories. It happens way too often and I don't want that to ever happen to me, so throughout last year I made both sides of my family do a family photo. And I had Shawna from Shawna Gerry Photography, do a family photo for my boys and I. I'm only 25 so I don't have a "family" of my own yet, but I do have my two dogs (which I'm sure you've seen before) Niko and Piglet. I adore them more than life itself. I've had clients in the past tell me that their family photos made them cry tears of joy and I didn't quite grasp it since I'm not technically a mother, but as soon as I saw the photo Shawna did, I understood.

This is my mother's side of the family, taken in April 2011. There's three generations pictured here :)

Unfortunately, this was at my Grandma Bell's funeral, I encourage all of you to get photos with loved ones while they're still here. Even if it's not professional, just do it.

Here's my dad's side of the family. Three generations in this one as well. There's other family on that side, but they weren't in the state at the time.

And here's my family picture!!! I absolutely adore it :) It's perfect in every way.

Baby Derby Zebra | Jackson, MI Newborn Photographer

Congrats to BipolarBeatdown Barbie and Rolling Steady on their baby derby zebra!! He is seriously such a cutie and completely chill. He barely fussed the entire time I was there. AND, see that Santa hat?! I made it!! I'm finishing setting up my Etsy store, so look out for that in the near future!! 

Christmas at My House | Jackson, MI Photographer

First and foremost, I have an extreme love for Biggby Coffee. It's so incredibly tasty and their barristas are always chipper. That little jingle they have is a very true statement for me, Biggby Coffee is my happy place! If you haven't seen/heard the song here's a link to the YouTube Video.

So enough of my love for coffee because I love my two boys, Niko and Piglet way more than any cup of coffee! Plus, they truly are my favorite models to work with because they know exactly what to do when I bust out the camera. Must mean that I trained them well :) Plus, they're pretty cheap to hire cause they work for food and kisses. I had a friend of mine give me some backdrops and I haven't had the time or the room to use them yet, so the other day I was really sick of staring at a computer screen (it's the end of the semester, plus crunch time at work, plus holiday season for photography is always crazy busy) so I needed a break. I wanted to try out some fun stuff with the boys and do semi-holiday themed photos and this is what I came up with. I am totally in love with them and really want to get big metal prints of each of the boys!! I love BIG photos, I wish more people would really that they really aren't that big. My smallest photo in my house is a 5x7, but it's part of a six photo 36x26 collage and my smallest solitary photo is a 16x20 AND my walls still seem bare!!

Anyway, off my soapbox...I really like the backdrops and I can't wait to use them in the future. I have a newborn session this evening and I'm going to use a similar treatment for some of his photos.

50 Reasons NOT to Date a Photographer

I found this really funny blog post while browsing the net and thought it was hilarious enough to share with all of you.

1. They rather hold their bulky camera, than hold hands with you.
2. On a romantic date, you’ll watch the sun go down and think “Wow this is gorgeous” and they’ll go “mirror lock, tripod, and stop down f/8 at 1/125.”
3. You’ll never be able to enjoy TV, movies, or magazines because they’ll point out all the visual flaws.
4. They like to sit in obscure coffee shop and voyeuristically watch people for great lengths of time. 
5. If you’re taking a walk outside and you come across some “interesting light” they will make you sit/stand/pose in public so that they can take a photo. 
6. You’ll never get to enjoy freshly cooked meals because they’ll spend 15 minutes taking 20 variations of the same dish with their iPhone. 
7. They get angry when your friends go up to them and say “I am interested in photography, can you recommend a good camera for me? Nothing professional I just want to take pretty pictures.” 
8. You’ll wait longer for them to finish analyzing art in a museum than you’ll wait at the DVM
9. Same goes with old used bookstores. 
10. When you think they’re giving you their undivided attention, they’re really wondering how they could fix you with a little Clone Tool and Patch Tool. 
11. Or they are actually using you to not look so creepy as they people watch everything going on around you. 
12. They rather drop $1,000+ on new glass than a purse for you. 
13.  You can’t take a photo with them without taking at least five more. 
14. If you ask them if you look fat, they’ll say “don’t worry I can Photoshop you later.” 
15. They’ll never Photoshop something simple for you if the content is not up to their “standards.” 
16. That photo they randomly took of you yesterday? Good luck getting them to send it to you. 
17. They spend all their time on the computer (and not for porn.) 
18. They can’t have a normal conversation with throwing acronyms and random numbers. 
19. They still use film cameras. 
20. They spend a lot of time with people cooler than you i.e. models, actors, musicians, successful rich people.
21.  They’ll be fussy over the position of a common household object, like a coffee cup. 
22. They won’t return your calls or text messages, but you can bet they’re still posting pics on Instagram. 
23. They like watching old films that you’ve never heard or will ever understand. 
24. They like looking at weird things in general. 
25. Instead of having penis-envy, they have camera-gear-envy. 
26. If there’s a natural disaster in a far away land, they’re already on a plane going over there. 
27. Everything is watermarked. 
28. They think everyone else’s photos suck. 
29. They want to color correct a lot of scenes from Twilight and Jersey Shore. 
30. They hate rainbows, especially ones spinning in a circle. 
31. Whenever you’re in a group talking and the conversation goes deep, they’re taking notes in some form of Moleskin. 
32. They use over priced Moleskin notebooks. 
33. They like trespassing into old abandoned buildings filled with health hazards. 
34. They always want to show a new photo they took, but don’t really care if you like it or not. 
35. They hate your n00bie friend’s new artsy profile picture. 
36. Bright, sunny days make them sad, but cloudy, overcast days are apparently great! 
37. They’ll take you into places that have “culture” as well a high chance of getting mugged. 
38. Your birthday present will be a portrait that they’ve taken of you. 
39. You can’t go anywhere new without them stopping to take a photo of everything and anything. 
40. They will always bug you to be a test subject.
41.  Nothing can ever be naturally pretty, everything must be fixed in Photoshop. 
42. Bringing their camera means, bringing 50lbs of equipment. 
43. If you break any of their things on accident, you’ll owe them thousands of dollars. 
44. You can’t get them a birthday/Christmas present without spending at least $500 
45. They are natural hoarders, collecting and keeping piles of old newspapers, packaging, magazines, and other things that “inspire” them. 
46. They are weird and geeky. 
47. They have hard drives of photos, but probably have printed 10 images. 
48. They are always secretly judging your creativity. 
49. If you’re ever in auto mode, they laugh at you. 
50. They orgasm every time they learn a new lighting technique.

Derby Wifey & Her Fam | Jackson, MI Family Photographer

Family photos make me so happy and I was über excited when my derby wife asked me to photograph her family. For those of you who aren't involved in roller derby, a "derby wife" is pretty much your best friend in derby. So here she is with her brother and her daughter. Seriously you don't get cooler than this girl!!

Aww mommy & daughter :)

Becky + Ben | Jackson, MI Wedding Photographer

Halloweenie Kids | Jackson, MI Children Photographer

Seriously these two are darling! K had just turned five so mom wanted to do some photos showing how much she's grown and came up with the cute idea of the tutu and the letters. K is such a ham too, posing for every picture and being an awesome big sister to B. She was such a good helper getting B's attention and making sure he was looking super cute in his pictures. And how can you get more adorable that B and that pumpkin?! I couldn't have asked to work with better kids!!!