Greetings from Arizona!

Hello Hello!! I am a blogging failure these days…I've been super duper busy..BUT I had the honor of being flown out to Arizona this weekend to shoot a wedding so I thought I would throw a little sneak peek out there for you all! This wedding was at the Kokopelli Winery in Chandler, AZ and was small and super charming! :o) I will post more about this event when I get home and have some more time! Ironic fact: I have done TWO weddings before and they have BOTH been "Sullivan Weddings"! Crazy, huh? The picture below features the bride on the left sitting in the salon watching the unwanted rain pour down outside as her girls were getting all dolled up. The other side is their custom wine labels! :o)

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This weeks Fix it Friday!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while!

Haven't had much to say! :-x

I had a great idea for this weeks Project 52 theme, and just never got around to doing it. Shame on me, I know! I DID, however, do this weeks Fix it Friday through I Heart Faces, and here is my before and after! Remember, this is NOT a picture that I took, instead, it is a picture that I Heart Faces gives you permission to edit and share what you have done to it! So this picture, along with every other Fix it Friday picture that I post is not taken, but edited only by me! Enjoy and gimme some feedback!

Click image to enlarge!

It's Friday!

~Week 86~

(Click image to enlarge)--(Edited by Jennifer Hines Photography only)

A little treat for everyone, and some recent work!

Hey guys!

I have been doing a whole lots of picture taking just for ME. This makes me :o)! I have gotten some awesome sunsets, my first moon and star pictures, some pretty shots of the fire we had last night, and I worked on some older pictures from the first "experimental" boudoir shoot I had with my good friend Katie Monohan! Also, I worked on last weeks submission for MCP actions Project 52. The theme last week (week 7) was "open your heart". I didn't submit anything for the week before that, which was "words", so I decided to combine the two! It doesn't really go with the whole "open your heart" thing too much..well I say that, but when I took the one I submitted (the big one in the collage), I showed it to Katie Monohan. She was confused about what it was and couldn't figure it out, so it ended up not being her favorite. I had to explain to her how I set it up to get the effect that I wanted, and she then understood it, but still didn't "see it right". So, I guess I really ended up trying to open some hearts up to abstract photography! :o) Yay for unintentional greatness!

On a side note. I am trying to increase my "likes" on facebook, and really the amount of people I am reaching in general. So, for just a little while (as most photogs charge for this, and I will later), I am going to allow you to HAVE- for FREE some of my work to display on your facebook. Whether it is one of your favorite collages or general non portrait photos that I have done, or a collage from your previous shoot! If you have never seen a collage from your shoot on my page, just message me real quick and I'll make you one!

Here is all I ask in return:

~I have 90% choice in which pictures will be in your collage, and how many. (let me know if there is one that you are in love with though and really want included)

~You must NOT crop, alter or print your picture or collage in ANY way. Logos MUST show even if it is your profile picture on FB

~If you are going to use a collage, ignore this, but if not. . label the picture (in the caption section under the picture on facebook) with this link:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jennifer-Hines-Photography/110792918968118

~Don't forget to "suggest" my page to any friends on your friends list that may want to "like" my page!

~KNOW that I love and appreciate EACH and EVERY one of you! :o*

Any-hoo. . . Here are the collages of what I've been up to, and as always, click the image to see it bigger! I hope you enjoy looking as much as I enjoyed taking them!

Fix it Friday- Week 85!

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Here is this weeks "Fix it Friday" submission! Fix it Friday is hosted by IHeartFaces.com. They post a picture taken by random photographers each Friday for other photogs to edit and play with!

Just another blog post! :o)

Hey guys! I won't bore you with another long blog post about what I have been up to because in all reality people. . it isn't much! :o/ I am officially in a rut and just trying to get through each day with this ridiculous economy. It's hard enough these days to pay rising bills, grocery prices, and ridonk gas prices. . then try saving to do ANYTHING extra and it's easy to feel hopeless!

Blah.

On a lighter note, on Feb. 10th, my husband and I became certified Skywarn weather spotters through the National Weather Service! We attended a class at the Rutherford County EMA here in TN, and we plan to attend both the March 26th class and the advanced class April 2nd in Franklin, TN. It's pretty exciting! Weather is a huge thing at our house. My husband is more into the science and "how, why, where, and when" parts of it. I, on the other hand, just love the magic of it all! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE learning about it as well, but LOVE just feeling the energy in the air and catching it on camera! Adrenaline=good! My husband, Jesse, wants to have our own chase team someday and he is interested in doing some of his own forecasting. I am all about being a spotter but forecasting seems a little boring to me. Swirling around in the wind as the clouds swirl and threaten to drop down on top of us. .now that's where you will find me. :o) Hopefully, with this training and with future emergency trainings, we will be able to help Tennesseans have better warning times and be better educated on what they should be doing! For the last 10 years, TN has led the nation in the number is tornado related fatalities. Educating people on that fact, and on the importance of weather radios and seeking shelter (which means absolutely leaving any and all mobile homes people!) is something that HAS to happen and is something my husband is passionate about. :o)

So, this did turn into a long blog but, hey. . that's ok because you LOVE reading them, right?!

Much love!

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Goal number 1 ~ COMPLETE! (and ramblings on other subjects) ;o)

Hey friends! Remember when I let you guys know on my facebook page that I have been asked to shoot a wedding in Arizona in April? Well the plans are finalizing, and my nerves are starting to tingle! Even though I am pretty nervous about it, I am SUPER duper excited at the same time! As time goes on I am starting to think that events(such as weddings) are going to be something that I am going to really enjoy shooting! Well, the small ones at least. . for now.

;o)

All of the aspects of events are planned without you being involved, well most of them anyway. For now this is a very good thing for me! I don't have to come up with hair, makeup, wardrobe, props, locations or any of that stuff(all of these combined can be pretty overwhelming for someone who is at my level of experience!). Although planning those sort of things for shoots sounds fun, its a little much right now to have to think about all of that on top of posing and angles and lighting and working with the surroundings that I find myself in. At the last wedding I did, I enjoyed the fact that everyone was buzzing around me doing their own things, so that left no one waiting on me for the next move (for most of the day/event). I walked around freely snapping shots of things that were already planned and set up, and snapping candids of people just doing what they are there to be doing! Don't get me wrong, I also loved the section of the evening where I was in charge and moving people around and making quick decisions on where to place people according to light, angles, and other artistic type things! I also love events because they are happy places where I get to just be a "people watcher", which is something that I am kind of obsessed with doing! I get to capture the sweetest, funniest, and most happy moments of the day without having to worry about anything other than what I am doing. It's great practice for me on the whole lighting and angles subject! Not to mention the fact that I just love the nerves, excitement, and just the over-all buzz that comes from not only the guests, bride, groom, wedding party and parents, but also from the other "staff" and coordinators at weddings! There are SO many different types of emotions to catch and it's so fun to be able to silently watch them all and capture them all without being the creepy people watcher sitting in the corner staring at everyone, lol!

On another note, one of my goals for this year was reached today! Well, handed to me actually! My boss, Katie Sasser, who is the owner of the daycare that I work at, handed me Photoshop Elements 9 today! If you've forgotten, a few of my main goals for this year are to get photoshop (completed!), learn photoshop, work on my portfolio (find MY style), and start thinking about and starting to convert my bonus room at my house into a small studio. While trying to reach these goals, my overall goal is to find what my style is and what my specialty is going to at least start out being. I need to build my portfolio into a showcase of the photos I LOVED taking. I want to be here for YOUR portrait and photo needs but I want to find what style I love shooting and presenting the most so that I can eventually spend every day, all day doing what I love, and loving what I do. After all, if your not loving what you do, there is no point in doing it, right?

;o)

As always, thanks for following me and reading my babble!

Fix it Friday week 84

I Heart Faces Fix it Friday photo editing challenge

Week 84

Image edited-NOT TAKEN- by Jennifer Hines

A couple goals and recent projects.

So, yet again, I have failed to blog in a while. This stops now! I have so many ideas swimming in my head and I am keeping them there where they are doing nothing for me! First, I want to start coming up with ideas and plans to turn my bonus room in my house into a small studio. I didn't really think I wanted to do studio work, but after some thinking, I think that it would be a good way to offer more, be able to work with babies more (which is something I'd love to do), and it would give me a way to shoot more during the down time that the cold months bring! Also, how the heck am I supposed to know if it is something I would like to do long term if I don't try it?! I don't know when that sentence is going to finally sink in to my stubborn over analyzing head! Blech..anyhoo. It is the size of a 1 car garage (as that is what it used to be) but it is fully converted to be just another room in the house. It has a sliding glass door that gets evening light and a decent sized window on the opposite side that gets all of the early light. I am going to start paying more attention to, and playing with the lighting that these sources offer to see if they would be enough natural light. Also, I am going to start putting togethor what I would NEED to have to get this going, and what I would eventually WANT to have in this space. As the room slowly starts to turn into what I'd like it to be, I am going to use Project 52 to start shooting in it!

Once I get going, I am going to be on the look out for people who would like to bring their babies over for me to start practicing with! This may be a hard task since I don't really have any friends with babies or any friends that are preggo (with the exception of one that is due far enough away from now that I would have time to get things going). I know I haven't been posting much "work" lately, but don't worry. I am STILL just as excited about all of this and just as determined to reach my goals, I have just been on a weird side of things lately. I've been doing a lot of reading and thinking about what I really want to start doing and focusing on and what goals I really want to work on first! So, photoshop and the studio are my two things that I am going to start with!

On a side note, if you are a photographer, or if you are friends with any who have any studio type things that they would be wanting to sell or get rid of due to updating or whatever reason, can you let me know? These things would be backdrops, fake "prop" flooring (or real snap togethor wood flooring that you may have extra of!), any lighting equipment, equipment to hang backdrops with, or anything else you can think of, including props!

Another huge thing that I need to remember to allow myself to do is to keep shooting things that are just for me. Things that don't include people that got me starting with this passion in the first place. In saying that here is some of the shots I have taken recently of random things that make me happy! Enjoy and don't be a stranger!(click any collage to see it bigger or visit my facebook page and click through my albums to see the full size of each individual photo!)

Last, but not least, here is last weeks pictures from Project 52. This is a project that MCP actions is "hosting" to help keep photogs inspired and to challenge their creativity. I am using it for not only that, but so I can shoot what I want to shoot not what I am being asked to shoot at least once a week! This will help me build a portfolio showing what I want to be doing the most! Last weeks theme was "Shades of Grey!" I took more than one, but only submitted the "3/52" pool ball picture. I thought it was fitting. These were all taken in our detached huge garage, also known as the "man-cave" at our house!

Fix it Friday #83

I randomly decided to participate in I Heart Faces Fix it Friday this week! Here is my edit!

Just an update!

Hey friends and fans!

I have no blogged in a while, and mostly, that is due to feeling too scatterbrained and unmotivated to get my thoughts together! That is slowly changing, so here we go with a long blog that I hope you all will read and give feedback on!

First off, I know I have been saying that EVERYTHING is changing and becoming more "official" with the New Year. Well, again, my mind has changed, and I think for the better! There are a few things I need to do to better myself before I jump in and make that change, and I promise, it will be better for all of us! My first goal, is to save up for, then purchase photoshop. I, then, am going to do whatever it takes to learn it! A photog I look up to alot (Alfie) once told me that if the editing program I am using is working for me for now, then don't rush to change it and overwhelm myself. I had all intentions of that, and did put it off for a while now. However, in order to have a logo designed and be able to purchase and use alot of marketing products I have found and am excited to use (Ukando.com), I need to learn photoshop! So, I have plans to do that asap!

In the mean time, I am going to change and adjust just a couple of small things on my price list and in the way I do things so I can continue to offer you the same great savings while I continue to build my portfolio for my new website, which I will be launching hopefully by the beginning of this summer (I will keep you updated on that date)!

When I launch my new website, I am going to PUSH marketing and advertisement like you have never known! If you see me during a shoot or just out and about and I shove 500 flyers and cards in your face, please know that it's because I love you and appreciate your business and I want to get myself out there so I can continue to work with you as your family photographer for life!

Another big goal of mine is to TALK to you guys more! I WANT to be your friend! Lets get to know each other! I am going to be talking more on facebook, and blogging more on here! Please help to continue to spread the word, and please, PLEASE keep bringing me feedback! Comments on here and facebook are what keep us photogs motivated and help us feel like we are connected to the word outside of our "offices"!

Love you guys much and I thank you all for what you have helped me with thus far!

BTW I would love to hear from anyone with any great marketing/business ideas! Also, I am really wanting to get an engagement shoot/maternity or just a few sweet couples wanting pics done squeezed into my portfolio! If you are wanting to have any of these done, let me know! We can even work something out if you would love to "help" me but weren't looking to make the investment just yet!

Email me at JenniferHinesPhotography@gmail.com or facebook me and lets start talking!