I’ve been doing self portraits every other week to document this final pregnancy and last weeks was so magical and came out exactly how I wanted and above my expectations of doing self portraits! Here is 24 weeks, a little over half way done and growing by the second it seams. I feel like I was showing a little extra since these were done the day after Thanksgiving where I think I devoured about 34 meals over a one and a half day period.
I want to take someone here to shoot soon, before they mow it down! SO lets set up a session for you, your family or your sweet little one – you won’t be disappointed.
More maternity sessions can be seen on the Maternity tab
I had the pleasure of getting to capture Moe & Ignace at Avalon Nature Preserve and Duck Pond in Stony Brook a few weeks ago. Moe thought that she had missed her chance at 37 weeks pregnant to do maternity photos but took a chance and gave me a call. I was so happy I was available to squeeze them into my schedule. They were both so fun to work with and Ignace was quite a funny guy! We decided on an evening session and the park was absolutely beautiful when we arrived. The golden hour sun made all the fall colors really pop and shine. After a little walk though the park we decided to get Moe into one of the dresses I have and do just a few more near the pond. She was STUNNING!! And we even had some guest waddle into a couple of shots.
You can’t always be so lucky to be married to a photographer like my husband – so here are some tips to capture your holiday festivities! Wether it with your smart phone or dslr you got as a gift this past year make sure to take it out and really capture the family moments together.
Follow the light
Nothing is worse than a poorly lit photo! Take the time to stop, observe and adjust the exposure to make sure your getting what you want before moving on. On your phone this can easily be done by tapping on the screen and moving the exposure slider up or down. Light can come from so many different options – like your bright christmas tree. Explore your surroundings and really take it all in.
Capture the candid moments
Sure the kids holding up their presents with big smiles on their faces is a great memory too, but the best is watching them open them and seeing how they react when that is going on. Watching grandma & grandpa interact with the kids, big hugs upon arrival, reading a book or just sitting together taking in the time together. Capturing the unposed can be just as good or better as the posed ones that everyone always gets.
Take an adventure & play
Getting outside or doing something not only yields better light but makes for fun memories had and captured! Last year during our winter break it SNOWED! For us the kids had never seen, touched or played in the snow having lived in California on the coast. Watching them suit up and dig in and have a blast was something i’ll never forget. Don’t limit yourself though getting out also means meeting santa, taking a fun holiday adventure to the tree farm to cut down your own tree or getting hot cocoa at the local coffee shop. Cocoa mustaches are completely adorable.
Change up the perspective
Take the chance and give your little ones a moment to capture what they want – you may be surprised when they come back with at least one or two cute shots. Get down low and on their level and shoot. Shoot from above, though a window or door. Get creative and change it up a little.
Get in it the frame
I have to admit this is a really hard one for me a lot of the times. Not because I don’t want to be in the frame but because I get SO caught up in taking all the pictures! So while everyone is gathered around take a moment to set up your camera and set a timer or hand it off to another person and hop in the frame. Because you were there too!
You might even be surprised when you do hop in the frame and can’t monitor whats going on!
Lastly at the end of the day, the best photos are the ones you take…the ones just for yourself. All of the happiness captured, the meals shared, and the time spent together they are the memories that make up this season. So, do your best to take the photos that matter to you, but more importantly — also take time and put the camera down to experience it for yourself.
I have know Olivia and her amazing family for 10 years now! It all began when I had just moved to San Francisco after graduating from photography school and happened upon getting a nanny job with their family. Olivia was just two and a half and I had never nannied before or driven around San Francisco. Let’s just say they both took some adjusting to. I ended up nannying for them for FIVE years and they became like family to me. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter family to work for and grow close too. After moving on we always kept in contact and close – Miranda was one of the first to come hold my Emily after she was born even. Olivia later accompanied Emily in being a flower girl at my wedding. Now living on opposite coast it’s harder to see each other ( thank goodness for Facebook!). When I was in the Bay Area last month for holiday sessions I was able to squeeze in a little session and hang with Olivia and her sweet little labradoodle puppy Dillon. I could not be happier with how they turned out – these two are like peas in a pod!
20 getting to know you questions – some fun little facts about the girl behind the lensÂ
20 getting to know you questions – some fun little facts about the girl behind the lensÂ
I found this 20 Getting to Know You Questions questionnaire over on another photographers blog and thought it was perfect since I am not great at creating about me facts! Usually these are done on Friday’s as #fridayintroductions but I’m posting today so…
let’s get started! Enjoy!
What’s your favorite Christmas movie?
Elf! I mean I watch it year round and can’t think of any other christmas movie that makes me laugh every single time I watch it.
If you could live in any period of history, what would it be?
Defiantly the 50’s – 60’s. I love most things about that time period and if you look at my house you would totally know what I mean. I have almost all vintage furniture in my house and am always listing to the “oldies” station here. I have always loved the music from that time period – it used to be the only thing my mom played in the car – so I know the words to almost every song that comes on.
Us on our honeymoon in Las VegasÂ
What’s your dream occupation – the one job you’d love to have if you weren’t doing what you’re doing now? I would have to say some type of chef or baker. I love to cook and eat really yummy food. Though in the years since my kids have entered the world I have not been doing it as much aside from the usual meals of the week. Sometimes I like to get fancy and it’s usually well received other times not so much – like my mushroom risotto last week. “MOM why couldn’t you just have left it plain!” I also love food photography and was my main concentration before solely doing babies, kids and families!Â
 Describe your first car and what you loved or hated most about it.
I had a 90’s something Pontiac Sunfire – it was white. I saved up for about a year after having my learners permit by working at Target ( which is were my slight obsession began)
What one accomplishment are you most proud of?
Not giving up this year – I can’t tell you how many times I just wanted to close up shop and never shoot another picture again. Moving cross country was HARD on me and my business. But thanks to my supporting husband and family & friends I kept on going and not letting the hard parts of business get me down.
 How do you take your coffee?
Light and sweet so it doesn’t taste much like coffee and I love when summer rolls around because iced is even better for me!
What has been the hardest part about your motherhood journey?
Not being perfect. It’s the hardest thing for me and I focus a lot on the un-perfect parts. Before kids I had ideas about how I would raise kids and for the most part I have stuck to them but life, pregnancy and PPD really like to throw wrenches into that perfect plan.
What has been the best part? Watching them both grow and learn. Everyday I look and think weren’t you just my tiny little baby that I could just carry around and now they are both wild little minions running around causing all sorts of mayhem.Â
What is something you collected or are still collecting?
There are 2 things I collect – Franciscan Wear (Coronado pattern) and all things Elvis! The Elvis thing kicked off at birth – because we share a birthday and my grandma was a big fan. I have long been collecting Elvis memorabilia since I was a little kid and my grandma gave me an original photograph of Elvis from a concert he did at Ft. Hood in TX. Then she took me to Memphis, TN to visit Graceland. My husband and I collect the Franciscan Wear together after finding a HUGE set at an antique store when we were looking for a dish set for our first place together. And since then we have been collecting pieces as we find them, which has become harder since being on the east coast.
First Elvis piece can be seen on the right in silver frame & that is only about 1/2 of our dish collection other half is in boxes for when we need 30 tea cups or ice cream dishesÂ
If you were hosting a dinner party who are the 5 people (alive or dead) you would invite?Â
Elvis (obviously), Adele, The Beatles, My BFF Brandie & Will Ferrel
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Really bad TV shows like the Kardashians, Botched, My 600 Lb. Life etc etc. I don’t know why but I get sucked in and can’t turn it off!
What’s on your Bucket List?
To travel outside of the US- In my 31 years I have only traveled within the US and dream of going to see so many more places.
What’s on your most played playlist?
Pandora – I don’t have time for playlist… We listen to a lot of Cake radio and Adele radio
Whats your favorite book(series)?
I’m not a big book reader aside from reading to the kids. Usually only business type books or cookbooks. So really I guess I could say my favorite would be “Pure Vanilla” by Shauna Sever or the one Emily can read all by herself now called “Emily’s Balloon”
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
San Francisco – not going to lie, I REALLY miss it. SF/Marin was such a great space for us but sadly the cost to live and survive there just wasn’t possible. I thrive on the busyness of the city and the constant change and urban setting.
Taken on the way to the hospital in labor with Emily
Are there things that you sometimes don’t understand, but pretend you do?
Politics – I just can’t keep up. I know its important to know but it stresses me out so much.
What will you never give up on?
My business – like i said before I always want to give up but I don’t. I worked really hard to get here and I won’t quit easily.
If you could have one superpower – what would it be?
Cleaning with the snap of a finger. I mean who really gets excited to clean… I don’t and truly despise it.
Have you ever had a nickname? What was it?
Yeah, everyone used to call me Red in high school.
What makes you laugh the most?
My daughter Emily says the most hilarious things lately and watching her dance to different music really makes me giggle. Then my husband he’s always been a funny guy doing funny things and thats where she gets it from.Â
It could be because I love photography and seeing the history of my family but it is just as important for you too, for you and your family. In this day of digital everything, printing out photos is becoming a long-lost idea. Technology will change again and again and again and things will get lost as it isn’t meant to be sustainable, it is just data on a disk unless you make a hard copy – A PRINT!
I was set to write this post at the beginning of February but it didn’t happen. We finally closed on our house and have been working on getting it ready for move in! Then rolled in the plague and winter break and I’m finally getting around to posting on this very important topic. Why printing your photos is oh so very important.
What inspired me to create this post was my grandpa, Fred Egenberger: USN Seabees, he passed away just over a year ago at the end of January 2016. Since his passing and visiting my grandma a few times I have collected many MANY photographs. Some I know very well and some I have NEVER seen. Photos of my grandma as a child with her mother, my mom as a newborn, pictures of me from summers and holidays spent at their house. I have boxes and albums full of photos and it is nice to be able to show my children who our family was. It allows me to see the life that was before me and remember my past and my families past.
It could be because I love photography and seeing the history of my family but it is just as important for you too, for you and your family. In this day of digital everything, printing out photos is becoming a long-lost idea. Technology will change again and again and again and things will get lost as it isn’t meant to be sustainable, it is just data on a disk unless you make a hard copy – A PRINT! I am always asked “Do I get all the digital files?” “Will my gallery be here forever?” or told “I just want them for Facebook, Instagram, etc” but none of these are permanent. Prints are forever and can physically handed down to the next generation and the one after that. You can’t hand down your Facebook or Instagram – who knows if they will even be around in 5-10 years… remember MySpace?!
What you can hand down is a physical print in all of the forms it is offered in.
I urge you to get prints of your photos from your sessions even if it is just one, please order prints! When you order prints though me you receive archival photos printed on high quality paper and is printed by a professional lab that makes sure the print looks exactly like the image does on the digital file. My favorite product to offer satisfies both the want for the digitals and the ability to have prints. It is a keepsake box with all the images from your session printed in 4×6 size and all the images on a custom USP drive so you can share them digitally.
Some of the oldest photos in the collection – I think this could be my grandmothers parents and older siblings. I am guessing from about 1923 since there is a “23” on the back and pairs up with the ages of kids. Grandpa at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where they were building the base that is there now. Grandpa and his comrades and images of Guantanamo being built. The back reads Corpus Christy, Texas 1947 – Grandma is the one on the left in the one of 2 women. The other one reads ” Rodd Field Party – Boy, it was drunk out that day 4-21-52″ I can’t get over the light in this one and how young grandma is reads “Mother and Child – Bernard 4 weeks” My mom as a newborn – 6 weeks old and from what I know this was the first time my grandpa was meeting my mom since he was deployed during the time of her birth. I see so much of my little guy in this – my mom about age 2 ME and grandpa – this is how I remember my grandparents. This porch was a central hang out at Grandma and Grandpas.
Before having a cell phone was a big deal and a way of capturing everything I was always going to photo booths. The color one was from a cross country trip with my husband – we had only known each other for 3 months and he moved cross country … to be with me! You can’t tell but this is a print – and one of my very favorite shots ever of us.
February 2017’s portion of my 365 project. Capturing the everyday life happening around me.
Here is February’s portion of my 365 project – we miss a couple of days due to crazy happenings.
A few big things happened in February, we closed on our house and Edward turned 2! So among renovations and mid-winter break we got a little off track a couple of days. But overall it was a great month!
When starting the project I wondered how I would share the images everyday and pretty easily decided with Facebook and Instagram would be the best, but then wondered what about ALL of the other ones that didn’t make the cut for the ONE image I was set to share a day.
When starting the project I wondered how I would share the images everyday and pretty easily decided with Facebook and Instagram would be the best, but then wondered what about ALL of the other ones that didn’t make the cut for the ONE image I was set to share a day. There are so many more that I love but didn’t want to over saturate my feed with outtakes or the likes. So I made the choice to edit them and set them aside each day and that I would then compile them into a post here. So at the end each month I will be adding a full post of outtakes – they are just as funny, sweet, moving and crafted as the others!
January 2017’s portion of my 365 project. Capturing the everyday life happening around me.
In December I decided starting January 1st I would embark on a 365 day project. It is where you take a photo everyday and can be anything you want YOUR project to be about. I was inspired to do this because I always feel I’m not doing enough of my own family as I am for everyone else that hires me. Even more so I don’t have very many of my little guy so I am aiming to do more of him though this project.
SO here are the first 31 days (minus the one day I missed) of 2017. Hope that you guys enjoy it – you can keep up with me on a daily basis over on my Instagram and Facebook page too.Â
Jessica Michelle Photo 