misc « Jean Smith Photography

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workshop announcement

September 8, 2010

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…

Posted in commercial, contests, events, misc | 9 Comments »

reminiscing

June 11, 2010

One year ago today, we welcomed our sweet Beckham into the world. Feeling just a bit blue today. Anyone else out there have the my-last-baby-is growing-at-light-speeds-and-i-kinda-just-want-him-to-stay-tiny-for-a-bit-longer blues?

Posted in baby, misc, newborn | 23 Comments »

Photo Walk

June 7, 2010

Bring it on Eastern Market! Laurel and I hosted the iheartfaces Photo Walk on Saturday and it truly was so much fun. I absolutely loved meeting the other photographers who came out and loved seeing how they viewed the world. That’s what makes this wonderful world of photography so wonderful…we all have cameras…but we all use them so differently. I love it.

As we were walking, talking, and taking pictures, I very quickly realized that I am definitely not a “thing” photographer. Geez…objects and things are hard to take pictures of! But, it was so fun to step outside of my “people” box and look at the world from a different viewpoint. If you can’t tell, I was a bit obsessed with the flowers…

Posted in misc | 12 Comments »

tons-o-announcements

May 4, 2010

We have a lot going on around here and I thought I would just shove it all in to one big blog post. So, please, read on…lots of good stuff is a comin…

1. We just announced over on the Boka Studios blog that we are now accepting 2011 senior rep applications. You can read all of the details over on the blog, but in a nutshell, my husband is accepting 1-2 seniors from high schools in and around the Detroit and Ann Arbor areas. You get a free session fee ($250 value), 50 free 411 cards, 2 free websize images for Facebook or Myspace, and an online gallery of 30-35 images. All you have to do is spread the word about Boka Studios! For every paid session you refer, you will receive an 8×10 and 2 sheets of wallets ($100 value), and for every three paid sessions you refer, you will receive a 12×12 coffee table storybook album ($400 value). Wanna see more of my hubby’s awesome senior work? You can view more senior images on the website or on the blog.

2. I am super excited to announce that I will be leading an iheartfaces Photowalk with Laurel from Laurel Photography on June 5th at the wonderful and colorful Eastern Market in Detroit. This is for photographers at any level or stage in their photography journey. The first 25 spots filled up right away, so they opened up 25 more spots. Hurry, click HERE to go an sign up…we will have so much fun! Can’t wait to meet you all!

3. Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, last, I teased you all a few months ago with talk about some possible mini sessions. I haven’t done any since early 2008, so don’t you think it’s about time to bring them back? I am in the planning stages of this and would just like to get a feeler of anyone who would be interested. They would be child mini sessions (for up to four children) and I am considering the dates as August 27th, September 23rd and 24th, or October 23rd. I am just looking to finalize dates right now, and the rest of the details will follow. If you are possibly interested, let me know which dates work best.

Along with this overload of information, I’ll leave you with some sweetness as well. Love this little guy…I last photographed him a little over a year ago, and my, can you just FEEL how much his parents adore him?!?!

Posted in child, family, misc | 13 Comments »

question for you

April 8, 2010

Traditional vs Lifestyle? What type of session would you prefer (not to photograph, but to have on your walls)?

After my last post, I got to thinking. I know how much I love photographing kids and families in more of a lifestyle manner. But, how do others like it? And by liking it, I mean, I-would-rather-slather-my-walls-with-lifestyle-images-rather-than-posed-with-a-backdrop-images.

Before you commit to “liking it,” let me explain exactly what I mean by a lifestyle or “day in the life” session. The best example of what a “day in the life” would be like would be here. A lifestyle session would be here…or maybe even here. It is basically a storytelling session. Backdrops, stiff poses, perfect ruffley dresses…out the window. I’m thinking more along the lines of superhero capes, favorite foods, cooking together, games, dressups, dancing…you know…the good stuff. Why do I love photographing like this? Duh. Because it is fun. It is real. And most important, because we are capturing details and quirks that will be forgotten in five years from now.

Coming full circle, that brings me back to my question.

Imagine your walls and picture books decorated with perfect images taken by a professional photographer…are they posed and perfect, or are they fun and unexpected?

Keep in mind as you answer the question, there is NO RIGHT ANSWER. Just because I photograph a certain way, it does not mean I don’t adore and appreciate beautiful traditional images. Everyone has their own style, and I love and respect that. It’s just my sheer curiosity to know what people prefer.

I would love if you (and by you, I mean ANYONE reading this blog) would leave a comment and let me know your thoughts. What do the images in your mind look like of an absolute perfect session of your children and/or family? Oh, and you can leave an anonymous comment if you want…I just want to hear from you :)

Posted in child, family, misc | 27 Comments »

happy

April 4, 2010

happy day to everyone.

Posted in misc | 1 Comment »

iheartfaces

March 22, 2010

The challenge this week over at iheartfaces is “angles.” It’s amazing what using a different point of view will do for any image. Here is a recent fave…

Posted in misc | 11 Comments »

him

March 15, 2010

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am. Lucky in so many ways, but mostly lucky to have him.

And by him, I mean Travis. My husband. My best friend.

Back to the lucky (with minimal mushiness). We have always had the same interests and loved doing things together. But, I believe we have found the ultimate. Photography. Together. I never thought in a million years we would be able to do what we are doing now…sharing the same passion and calling it work. We used to talk about it and dream about it, but it wasn’t until the opportunity arose last year, that we just decided to go for it.

Six months ago, we started a partner photography company, Boka Studios. While I have been busy with Jean Smith Photography, he has been heading up Boka, where he photographs high school seniors, weddings, and commercial work. And I’m not going to lie. He is freaking awesome. But, I have given him the warning…if people are saying he is a better photographer than me, then we are in a serious fight. Just keeping it real.

The past six months have been crazy and awesome as we’ve launched this new company. To mark the six month anniversary, we are giving away THREE FREE SESSIONS! You can visit the Boka Studios blog for all of the details.

GOOD LUCK!

In a recent interview, I was asked: What’s one thing that everyone should know about you?

My answer… My husband and I are both super passionate about photography and we have this nerdy dream of being able to travel all around the world photographing people and places. Someday…when the kids get older…and we have lots of money…sigh…

Posted in contests, misc, promotions | 6 Comments »

happy

March 11, 2010

This makes me happy today. My boys. Sunshine.

All that is missing is some chocolate. For me…not them. Just to clarify.

Posted in misc | 16 Comments »

the maternal lens

February 13, 2010

I imagine a lot of people think I am reserved and a bit on the quiet side when they come to my blog. Not a lot of words. Not many stories. Not a lot about my personal life. However, when you meet me in person, you wonder how you could have thought that since I don’t ever stop talking…and laughing quite loudly.

So, you want to know a little about Jean? I was super flattered when the ladies over at the Maternal Lens blog asked to do an interview. If you haven’t been on their blog, it is absolutely wonderful and packed with awesome tips, articles, giveaways, and lots of eye candy. You can check out the interview HERE.

Happy weekend!

Posted in misc | 4 Comments »