Dear flash haters,
From one natural light lover to another…I have a tutorial on combining flash with natural light over on I Heart Faces. If you would like to check it out, you can see it HERE. Maybe you will see the light (no pun intended) and realize flash can open a whole new world to your photography.
Love, Me
P.S. While we are on the subject of I Heart Faces, I thought I would submit an image for this week’s challenge, “yellow.” A recent favorite…
I am so over-the-top blown away at not only the ideas you guys came up with for the styled mini-sessions, but also for the support you drew from your friends and family to help you win!! My hands are a little cold and clammy because I am so excited about this whole process and the awesome winners! After two hours of counting and counting and counting “likes” and comments, the winners are…
1. Most comments and likes – Sonja Brooks! Her idea? I would love to do a mini session with my daughter with an Anthropologie Baby theme. I love the anthropologie magazine photos with the eclectic feel. Shots of AnaLeigh in baby hunters and our favorite whispy sundress out in the woods or field. She is just learning to stand on her own and is thrilled about it! She might even bring her “pink woodland bear” snuggly along!
2. Most Facebook suggestions sent – Kellie Bahri! – Her idea? I would love to see Karson photographed having a vintage tea party. Vintage child’s table and chairs in a grassy field with a large oak tree with a vintage chandelier hanging. I see a multitude of pastel colors -pinks, greens, robin egg blues, (quilts,etc.), extra large cupcakes and other treats and mixed matched china tea set. Her wearing a tutu and crown. Add Landon (3 years old) into my photo idea! He can be the Mad Hatter at the Tea Party (with top hat and all)!
3. My chosen idea - Donna Levos! Her idea? “Vintage Bookstore” I see my girls (5 & 8) reading beautiful old hard-cover classics like “Red Riding Hood” in a charming old used bookstore. Picture a sweet pair of blue eyes peeking through a hole in a shelf full of books, a silly pic balancing books atop their heads, a quiet moment of big sister reading to little sister. Or a silhouette of a girl on tip-toe reaching for a high shelf.
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in the contest!!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Winners…please email and we’ll discuss!
First, my mini sessions for May are full…THANK YOU! However, my contest to win one of three free styled/themed mini shoots is going until Thursday! You can view the details in my last blog post. Go on, there is still plenty of time to enter! Oh, and just a hint for those of you have entered or are thinking about entering, one of the ways to win is to use the “suggest this” tab on my blog. The highest amount suggested by someone so far is 12 suggestions. Only 12! That means, if you suggest even 15 people to “like” my page using the “suggest this” tab, you will be in the lead for winning one of the free shoots!
And, finally, some adorable littles for this lovely Monday morning…
This one cracks me up…I think big brother is way more excited about brotherly bonding than little brother…
I love cool parents…
I announced my mini sessions on Wednesday…thanks for those who have signed up! There are a few last spots left, so let me know if you are interested!
In honor of my mini sessions, and the almost-spring that is upon us, or perhaps because I just love a good contest, I have decided to offer THREE mini sessions for free!! But, we are going to have a little fun with these sessions. The three free sessions will be themed/styled mini sessions created by YOU. What do I mean by styled or themed? The session can have a certain theme, a certain style of clothing, or a mixture of both. Imagine tea parties, picking strawberries, lemonade stands, vintage clothing, bohemian kids in a field…the possibilities are endless. Need some ideas? A few favorites from Shannon Sewell are here, here, here, here, here, and here, or another one from Laura Siebert here. All you need is an idea for a themed session and some kids and you are eligible to win! To enter, please go to my Facebook page, “LIKE” the page if you have not already done so, and then post your idea for the styled/theme children’s shoot on my Facebook wall.
After posting your idea to my Facebook wall, you can win one of three ways…
1. Click the “share” tab on the bottom left of my Facebook page and use this “I would love to win a free session from Jean Smith Photography and I need your help! Please head over to her page and either “like” my comment or leave a comment on why I should win!” You may have to let them know that they have to “like” my page before they can leave a comment or “like” your comment. The person with the most “likes” on their idea combined with the comments from people you sent (your name must be mentioned in their comment so I know who to give credit to) will win a free session!
2. Click the “suggest this” tab on the left side of my Facebook page. Whoever sends the most suggestions WINS. Don’t worry, I am able to track names of the people who have sent suggestions and how many they have sent!
3. The third way of winning is by me choosing your styled session idea as my favorite! Please don’t think your idea has to be biggest and baddest to win…something super simple could appeal to me as much as something that is over the top with a lot of props. Please remember to post your ideas to my Facebook page, not in the comment section of my blog!
ONE IDEA PER PERSON PLEASE!
Sessions will take place on either May 12th or 14th.
These sessions are for kids only! Kids can be ages 6 months through 16 years old.
Please note that if you have already signed up for a paid mini session and would like to enter a session idea, you are still eligible to win the contest! Contest ends at 4 pm (Eastern time) on Thursday, March 17th.
GOOD LUCK!
Well, as you can see, I have chosen my new blog header! Congratulations to Marvett S, Caroline T, and Melissa S! You win our blog collage action set!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who searched through my blog to help me find a new blog header. My other top pics are shown below. Why did I not choose them? Reasons ranged from not looking right when cropped short and long (top reason), to being too specific of a genre, to colors not looking right with my logo. Sooooo, the above image wins for being general enough for all genres I photograph, colors look nice with the blog/logo, it is simple and not overwhelming, I feel it reflects my style, and I just adore their connection.
If you are still interested in the blog collage action set, we have just released it for sale. For the first week, we’ll be offering a discount…reduced from $50 to $25. Please click the “buy now” button below to purchase the set via Paypal and you will receive an email with your download instructions. The set allows you to create blog collages (for any kind of blog with images) without saving templates on your computer that you have to pull into Photoshop and manually place the images yourself. With the click of a button, the action creates the blog collage for you and automatically places the images you want in the collage. It works for any size images on any blog. If you would like to see examples, simply scroll through my blog or Travis’ blog.
*Please note that compatibility with Photoshop Elements has not yet been verified, but hope to test shortly.
New Year. What a cliche post title. BUT. I absolutely consider this a new year with new goals, new changes (personal and photography), and a new me. While I will save those thoughts for another cold, January day, I do want to get on with the new year and I need your help!
While the image at the top of my blog is still one of my favorites, it’s time for a new image. It’s been up there for…um…almost a year now. Since I don’t personally prefer slideshows or collages at the top of my blog, I have ONE image to say…this is my blog and this is my photography! As I was looking through images, I realized that I love certain images so much because i am emotionally connected to them in some way…maybe I adored the personality of the person I photographed…maybe the lighting was really cool…or maybe she just had amazing shoes. I quickly concluded that I am not the person to choose the blog header image that will appeal to the masses (I like to pretend “masses” are looking at my blog).
So. Will you help a girl out? I need help finding ONE image that reflects my photography in the best way and will appeal to the masses (there I go again with the masses). Just look through my blog and either Facebook me, email me, or leave a comment with the date of the blog post and image description of the image you like best.
Of course I will reward the person who suggests the image I love best! Travis has created a blog collage action set that freaking rocks. No more saving templates on your computer, finding them in a folder, pulling them into Photoshop, and manually placing each image. You can see examples of the collages below. You just push “play” in Photoshop, and the action creates the blog collage for you and automatically places the images you want in the collage. Any size images on your blog. Photography blogs. Family blogs. You name it…it works for everything. He will be selling it soon, but the winner will be the first to receive it! You can see examples of the collages as you scroll down through both of our blogs.
I will choose a winner by next Wednesday…thanks for helping…and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
When I announced my giveaway earlier this month, I figured it would be easy peasy. I would receive a few nominations, choose my favorite story, and choose a winner. Simple as that.
I did not expect such a large response, nor did I expect the stories that would roll in. I have cried, I have laughed, and then I have cried some more. I have read story after story of heartbreak and hardship, as well as happiness and inspiration.
Call me overdramatic, call me oversensitive, just call me a WUSS. This decision…the decision of choosing a deserving winner has been near IMPOSSIBLE. There was no way that one person was more deserving than another and I couldn’t make the choice.
Enter Travis, my husband.
“If they are all deserving, then why don’t you just pick a name randomly?”
And that is exactly what I did (thanks to random.org).
THANK YOU to those who took the time to write in about their loved ones, friends, or co-workers. But, more than anything, THANK YOU for renewing my faith in this season of love and giving.
The winner is….
Jillian (nominated by Terri Zyskowski)
and…because I am such a sucker for a heart warming story, I have (randomly) chosen a second winner…
C. Kempf (power in numbers…C was nominated sixteen times!)
Stories and full names are not included to protect the privacy of the winning individuals.
Ok, so I obviously used the wrong wording when I posted that I have a “big ol’ juicy announcement on the blog tomorrow” on my Facebook page yesterday. Just to clear the air…
No, I am not pregnant.
No, I am not announcing a workshop at this time.
No, I am not announcing mini sessions (sorry they never happened this fall, by the way)
The wording should have been something more like “sweet, innocent, and free on the blog tomorrow.”
With that said, I am announcing a free session giveaway….and I need your help to give it. As we move from the season of gratitude to the season of giving, I want to give and I want to give to someone who really wants or needs it.
What am I giving? A full session along with a disc of full resolution digital images and mini leather album (value $2000).
Who is the session for? Anyone…babies, families, engagements, high school seniors, children, couples, models, newlyweds, best friends…anyone.
How is one to win the session? This is where you come in, internet friends. If you know of someone in serious need or want of a photo shoot and think this would be the perfect Christmas gift for them, please email me your story/reason as to why you want to “nominate” them (jean@jeansmithphotography.com). Your reason can, but does not have to be a financial reason…it could be any reason as to why you feel your friends/family/coworker/neighbor deserves it.
Anddddd, the fine print…
I will review all entries and the winner will be chosen on December 15th.
By writing in, please know that if your story/reason is chosen as a finalist or winner, it may appear on my blog (names will not be used).
You can not write in and nominate yourself, sorry!
Session is to be used sometime before August 31, 2011.
This session can take place in either Michigan or Utah (we will be traveling to Utah for three weeks in July 2011)
Happy Holidays to everybody!
No, you sillies, I am not holding a workshop. BUT. I am announcing a very special, wonderful, brilliant, over the top awesome workshop by Shannon Sewell. If you know of her, you are already in love with her work. If you haven’t, you will be within five minutes of looking at her lovely images. I was instantly drawn to her images when I was first introduced. She has a ridiculous talent of stylizing her shoots and then telling a beautiful story through her images. Her view from the camera is unique and you will find that you just. can’t. stop. looking. You can find Shannon’s work on her website and her blog.
Intrigued?
Here are the details…
Date: October 19th (Shannon will be holding her workshop here in Michigan for ONE DAY and one day only)
Time: 10-6 pm
Where: Metro Detroit area
Cost: $350
Lunch: Delicious and included!
Seats: Only 10-15 available
Who is it for: Amateur to professional photographers
What you will learn: Whether you need inspiration or nitty gritty technique details, Shannon will cover her vision of a shoot, business (including branding, pricing, networking, etc), lighting, equipment, styling, post processing, and working with models. Shannon has packed this workshop with the information that has made her such an incredible photographer. And rumor has it that the styling for the model portion will be “very vogue” and fabulous. Soooo excited about it!
All right folks…it’s all laid out for you. An amazing photographer offering an equally amazing workshop at a killer price. Please email me at jean@jeansmithphotography.com if you are interested in registering.
Aaaand, how about a little Shannon Sewell eye candy to end this extremely long post…
This week’s theme is YELLOW…
