Sooooo….Jake got this massive Star Wars Lego droid carrier thingy for his birthday, and he and Victor have had many a Friday-night-droid-carrier-building-evening since then….and FINALLY, they are done!!

Can I just say one quick thing about how HAPPY I am that the lego-building assistant job goes to the man of the house?? heehee. 1368 is a LOT of legos! The best part (for ME) is that Jake normally suffers from a little-known ailment called *photographer’s child syndrome*. This USUALLY makes him very un-cooperative when the camera come out. Lucky me, I’ve learned the secret!! Just live through several months of intense lego construction, and lo and behold, he is cured :) I have a camera-ready child!! (okay, okay, ignore the ripped jeans - I didn’t want to push my luck!)

the finished product:

setting up the scene…

the lego-buildging-dream-team…

…and one more, just to show off that precious little face :)

I am VERY excited to share that I’ve been asked to present a 2 1/2 day seminar this summer at the Golden Gate School of Photography in northern California. The other instuctors are all SO impressive, I’m so flattered to be in such fantastic company! Here is a quick overview of the *other guys*: (haha - saving myself for last!)

Bob Davis, Canon Explorer of Light

Andre Costantini - Professional Lighting Techniques

Juli Cialone - Marketing & Sales

Paul Gero - Weddings

Dave Newman - Mastering Portraiture

Eliot Khuner/John Paulson -
Pro Photography Fundamentals

Kimberly Sayre - Album Design/Photoshop

….and then…there’s ME!!!
My class!!!

I’ve got all kind of fun stuff planned and great information to share…soooo…if you want to come play and learn with me - come on out!

jen :)

Just a quick note to say that if you were thinking about booking a session this spring - you should probably call sooner than later! :) (ha! that’s my tactful way of saying *you need to hustle*!)
March is completly booked up and I have just 4 appointments left for April :) The May calendar will open for booking on March 10, but for each month we have an interest list. If you know that you have family in town in July (for example) please let us know and we’ll put you on our interest list. AS we open each month for bookings, those folks on the list will have *first dibs*. Soooo- no obligation, but if you KNOW you’ll want an appointment in a specific month - let us know!

And because no blog post is complete without photos…let me share a few from my own personal 366 project. (366 project= a photo every day of 2008!) Here are a few from January….

Some wonderfully generous photographers have banded together and are holding an auction to benefit Thirst Relief International, a charity that helps provide fresh drinking water to areas that need help. Learn more about Thirst Relief here. If you are a photographer and you want to bid (but if you outbid me on my faves, I’ll be mad!!!) visit the auction site and click on the Thirst Relief banner.

These *superstars* of photography are auctioning off private mentoring sessions, a one-on-one chance to learn from the best in the biz. I am bidding up a storm!! I hope I win a bunch, I couldn’t imagine a better way to expand my photography and business knowlegde, while helping an incredible charity at the same time! Last year I was away from my computer at the end, so I didn’t *win* any of my favorites and I was very sad ~~sniff~~

This year, I am in it to winit!!
Want to know who I’m bidding on?? Most of the photog are wedding *rockstars*, and we all know I don’t shoot weddings - but there is still so much to learn from them!

Okay, right now I am WINNING these auctions!

Gary Fong Gary’s blog Gary shot my wedding back in 1999!! He was honestly the reason I became a photographer - I just loved how much joy and passion he felt and I wanted to be that fulfilled!! He has since gone on to become one of the MOST RESPECTED and ADMIRED photographers ever, plus he’s a business and marketing genius.I love love love my job - and I have him to thank for inspiring me! Last year his mentoring session went for almost $7000 ~~gulp~~ so I’m not confident I’m going to WIN, but I’m trying!

Laura Novak Laura’s site Laura is a great wedding AND portrait photographer - and she is the owner ofStrategy Avenue a business resource site for photographers. I’m always looking for ways to improve my own business, and I know that sitting down with LAura would be immensly helpful to me!

Becker Becker’s blog So Cal wedding photographer and marketing genius. I’m loving his daily videos on the [ b ] schoolI **KNOW** a 90 minute seesion with [ b ] would yield all kinds of cool new ideas (and maybe even improve my poker skills :)

I’m a little crazy today! I’m in the lead for Jeff & Julia Woods, Vicki Taufer, and Sarah Petty, all very successful, very amazing portrait shooters! Yay for me!

Wish me luck!!!!

ah. Time to stop being a blog-slacker.

Let’s take a brief jump back in time to last month :) Lily is one of my favorite little girls, she is always such a bundle of energy, full of silliness and just a lot of fun! Now she has taken on a new role, that of big sister!! This was my first time to meet Sara - and in addition to being beautiful she was just a happy little pumpkin…..

Alrighty, not a traditional portrait, but very much a *sign of the times* right now especially here in Southern California!

Los Angeles children’s photographer, Los Angeles baby photographer, LA baby photographer

I don’t know what they are putting in the water in Vegas - but ALL the future mommies I am fortunate enough to photograph are just amazingly beautiful!!! Meet Heather - she is just as sweet as she is pretty…. (okay, okay, Mark is pretty darned cute too!)…but who stole my heart???? Their big lovable pretty-girl Carrera - she was such a love sponge!!!

Las Vegas meternity photographer, Las Vegas baby photographer, Las Vegas children’s photographer

haha - okay, i don’t mean *oldest* as in OLD (she’s only a month older than me!), I mean we’ve been friends FOREVER, or 1300/52ths (joke) She recently bought the COOLEST farmhouse outside of Houston - we had a great time catching up! Here’s just a few - can’t wait to do more on my next trip to TX!

How stinkin’ cute is are her kids? Matthew is a junior this year and Aidan is just the most adorable two year old ever! Look at those big brown eyes! I’ll be headed back to Houston in April and hope I can catch a few of her oldest son!

Just one photo from Texas - then over the next few days I’ll be a blog-posting, catch up kiind of girl and show off some of these beautiful families I’ve been shooting!

Meanwhile, if you have tried to cantact me and I have not responded - PLEASE CALL!

back soon….

Hello - if you have emailed me since October 22 I have NOT received it. I am on vacation in Texas until the 30th, and my email has apparently been down almost the whole time. *some* emails have made it through, but randomly, like 2 or 3 per day. I have NO IDEA why some are making it through while others haven’t :( We’ve been testing it and apparently they are not bouncing back as *undeliverable* to the sender either. So, if you have emailed me - I am not ignoring you! Please either call me at areo code 661 number 803-6465 or email me at my personal email of jenwilson2525 AT sbcglobal.net . I will try to resolve this problem on the 30th, sorry if I have inconvienced anyone :(

If you are a client who has attempted to order, I have not received it (except Lauren, I got yours!) I’ll contact everyone on Tuesday….

jen

You know how you feel when you LOVE something SO much? That’s how my little Ali-bug feels about pink puppy - and I feel like the worst mommy in the world - because somehow, somewhere, pink puppy has been lost. it’s been nearly three weeks now, and not a day goes by that Ali doesn’t ask about her…”mommy? you find pink puppy?” as her eyes well up with tears…I KNOW this is trivial - I KNOW that there are much more important things out there to be dealt with - but I love my baby girl and want her to be happy - so I’m going to TRY to leverage the *power of the internet* to bring pink puppy home.

MISSING: one slightly tattered, well-loved stuffed puppy dog. fur white, nose pink, ears pink. Pink puppy was a Target Valentine’s puppy (why, oh why couldn’t Ali have fallen in love wiith some GUND who could be replaced year round at ToysRUs??) I KNOW someone out there has this puppy sitting on a bookshelf. (not OUR pink puppy, but an identical one) I’ve scoured through listings on eBay, I’ve retraced our steps a hundred times - now I’m asking for your help. There will be some sort of fabulous prize to the person who helps me find pink puppy!! PLease forward this blogpost on to any moms you know! Someone out there can help!

A random sampling of pink puppy photos so you can identify her..

.

Thank you SO SO SO much if you can help!

jen :)

Wow - hard to believe it is September already!! Time to start thinking about Christmas - and you know what Grandma would love most, dontcha? Why, yes, of course, an updated photo of little Janie ( or Charlie, or Sam - you get the idea!) I learned a few lessons last year about the CRAZINESS of the holiday season and have made some plans this year to keep everything running smoothly! Also - the introduction of a *limited* amount of mini-sessions? So - on to the info….

Dates to remember:

11/10 last session with promised Christmas delivery
11/20 all regular Christmas orders must be placed by this date
12/02 holiday open house (more on this later!!) all orders ordered in November will be available for pick up
12/03 all orders NOT picked up at holiday open house will be shipped

Q? Will I still be able to order after November 20th?
A - Yes, but there will be *rush* fees involved :(

Q? Should I book my session now?
A - YES! I am amazed at how quickly the calendar is getting full! ANd, I promised my family I wouldn’t over-extend myself (well, not TOO much anyway) this year

Q? What is a mini-session?
A- I’m SO glad you asked! A mini-session is a great way to capture fabulous individual photos of each of your children! Then, time permitting, we will move on to *sibling together* and *family* shots. It is NOT a substitute for a *real* family session - we just will not have the time to capture the unique personality of your family here - but we will be able to make some great portraits. All mini-sessions will have some sort of charitable donation required - we like to do good deeds!

Q? How do I book a full session?
A - Call me! Immeditaly, if not sooner! Or email jenATjenniferwilsonphotoDOTcom

Q? How do I book a mini-session?
A- I will be sending out an email to my existing clients next week - existing clients will have first *dibs* on the mini slots. If you would like to be placed on a list, please email me and I will contact you ASAP if I have spaces left!

Q? I have a gazillion friends that think you are just the bestest photographer in the whole world! Is it possible for me to *host* a mini-session so that I can show you off as a *fabulous find*?
A - Awwww, you are so sweet (okay, its late and I’m flattering myself!) Yes, it is possible to become a fabulous hostess-with-the-mostest of a minisession event. Call me for more info (and to find out *what’s in in for you!*)

Q? Do you sell Christmas cards?
A- Do I!!! I have so many cute designs to choose from this year! I will *mock up* a couple from each session, you are able to order from those or request a custom design (small design fee for custom cards)

okay - so it has been called to my attention that i have not been receiving *some* emails - i’m not sure what is wrong, because i AM receiving some emails (especially anyone selling rolexes, or wanting to pep up my sex drive, or *enlarge* some portion of my body that doesn’t exist!)
i will look into it after the holiday weekend, in the meantime, if you have emailed me and i have not responded, plea try again, or, better yet, give me a call 803- 6465, area code 661.

happy labor day!!!!

jen :)