Today only receive 50.00 FREE when you purchase a 100.00 Gift Certificate!  There is no limit to the number you can buy and you are welcome to split them anyway you like.  So keep 75.00 for yourself and give 75.00 as a Christmas gift!  They don’t expire so you can use them at any time. Please check out the pricing and scheduling page for details on session pricing.

Once you purchase please send an email to Jenniferjphoto@aol.com telling us:

-your paypal email (sometimes paypal accounts are listed under different names or email accounts and it’s hard to match everyone up)

-If it is all for you

-If it’s not all for you then how you would like it split up

My assistant will be working through these next week so please allow 5-7 days for reply emails as we work through all the orders.

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I’m a really bad writer and I would love to post some beautiful thankful post that brings a tear to your eye….but alas I type like I talk and I don’t tend to make people tear up lol.  SO…just know that I’m beyond thankful for the business God has blessed me with and all of the amazing people I get to meet by just doing what I love.  I’ve said it before but one of my favorite things of this job is watching little people and their families grow.  Thank you for choosing me to record your precious family moments!  I’ve gotten away from showing “sneak peeks” just because I have so many sessions to process and I figure everyone would rather have their pictures on time than have me stop and look through and find some to show off.  It takes forever to do so until I slow down I’m showing pictures after the session when they’re all done.  BUT I thought I’d show a sneak peek this morning of a client that has had me cracking up and talking about her every day since she was here.  She’s three….which means she asks a million questions.  It doesn’t really phase me as I’ve had three three year olds myself and currently have a niece and nephew at that age.  I don’t even know how she knew I had a cat but she got off on a cat tangent and asked me 100 questions all about my “tat” and then her final question was does my “tat” let me brush her and I said no and I may have misunderstood her but I thought she then said that her “tat” likes to be brushed.  So playing along I said well how do you get her to sit still so you can brush her.  To which I got the “you are so crazy look” and she said “I don’t have a tat” (silly me!)!  Cracked.me.up!  I miss those crazy little conversations with my kids and I loved talking to her…obviously I was a little out of practice at tracking with the three year old train of though conversations!  We now refer to our cat as “tat”.  Anyway, here she is and one with her beautiful mama and sister!

P.S.  That cute little headband she’s wearing is on sale for 40% off today….use coupon code “THANKFUL” at checkout with Lexi Grace Couture!

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No fun blog post today….computer is being worked on which made me all itchy and crabby to be apart from it but it should be working faster than my brain when it’s all done which is what I need to get me though all these Christmas sessions!  We’ll be back to fun blogs tomorrow

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I have fun and exciting news today!  As lots of you know my wonderful and talented hubby makes all of my sets for the studio and builds me fun things like my awesome lemonade stand this summer and all the crates that went with it.  I really don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t say I was thinking something like “this” and he goes and builds it even better than what I was imagining.  So I have this really cute little doll bed that belonged to my mom when she was little and it’s really really sweet but it’s natural wood which is nice but so not me.  I’m a painted wood kind of girl and my mom won’t let me paint it.  I think she said something like “over my dead body” to which I replied….”I’ll be showing up at your funeral with paint on my hand” (Kidding!  sort of….).  So I scoured the internet looking for cute painted beds and came up empty handed.  I just couldn’t find what was in my head…which is where KC  came to my rescue with the cutest little doll bed ever!  These are the perfect size for photographers to use with newborns and babies or for little girls to use with their American Girl dolls…or any doll.  We have more colors in store and will take special requests.  We just launched our new etsy store yesterday so stay tuned for fun new products to go with the beds as well as other props for photographers!  Here’s a little peek at our prototype bed being used (the beds on etsy etc. are smaller than the prototype he made me and exact measurements can be found there).

The name Sally Bubblegum comes from our daughter Ellie’s favorite and much loved stuffed cow.  She’s a very important member of our family and is always nearby.  Being the good mommy she is Ellie quickly licked her thumbs and cleaned Sally’s eyes and smoothed the fur around her eyes so we could see her better for the picture lol!

Check out the Etsy store HERE

Find us on Facebook HERE

Here are the first batch of beds (we’ll have a soft green, lavender and cream coming next week)

And here’s our prototype in use…as you can see this fun blue colors is great for girls or boys!

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Hi everyone!  I’m writing with exciting news!  My 2011 calendar is back open!  Due to the high demand that I can’t even try to wrap my head around, I’ve continued to do all that I can to be accommodating.

Note: this package adjustment took place beginning July of 2011 for all sessions booked on or after July 1st 2011.

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I’m so excited to feature my Diva mini session! I didn’t want to put them up before everyone was finished and now that images have been released I’m ready to show them all off! I saw lots of zebra stripes, including a pair of plush high heels, which I loved! My favorite image of the day is this first image of a little girl named Lilly. She’s a tricky little thing to get pictures of and I was able to capture an adorable smile on her face. All of these super girlie outfits were so much fun! My assistant is already campaigning for another Saturday of frills and lace and bows and sassy pants. I would like to thank Tara from Three Little Bows for providing zebra skirts, monogrammed shirts, and adorable hair bows for clients to model and purchase.

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Wow!  I have been blessed with more session requests than I can possibly make room for!  While this is great news, I’ve noticed something.  So many people book with me as far out in advance as I will take them and then, for multiple reasons, they aren’t always able to keep that date.  Most comments that come along with cancellation phone calls and emails include something along the lines of recognizing how busy I am and “surely someone else would love our spot!”  While this is true: I am in high demand and a lot of people would love a spot this year, it’s not very easy to book last minute sessions that have been canceled, especially in the middle of the day with short notice.  So, I’ve decided to set up a summer sale that coincides with all of these cancellations and offers a “Thank You” to all clients who keep their appointments with me!  If you have a session booked between July 1 and the end of the year, you are eligible for this sale.  All clients who choose to make a $50 deposit for their upcoming session, and keep their appointment, will receive a complimentary 11×14 print of their choice image!  This sale runs through the month of July and deposit is non-refundable, but will be applied to your final balance at the end of your session.  Simply send me an email or give me a call if you would like to take part in this “Thank You” sale!

*This sale is applicable to all sessions, including multiple sessions for one family and newborns on our due-date list.  The single exception is Mini Sessions which must be paid in full upon booking.

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I have been getting a lot of emails and questions lately asking for CDs and when my editing will be finished and why I’m “taking so long” (two weeks) to get images from my camera to your hands.  As I’ve tried to figure out how best to answer these questions without writing a book on photography, I decided to do a blog post of some of my favorite recent images.  In this post I’ll walk you through my editing process, show you what happens to your images from the time you walk out the door and offer a little insight to why my timing and services are not necessarily the same as other photographers you may have heard about or even experienced.

Let’s start with sorting:

After a session, I sit with my camera and delete any photos that aren’t worth keeping.  This is generally where I get rid of closed eyes and goofy faces, before even sitting at my desk.  Once the obvious is weeded out, I’ll upload to my computer and evaluate each pose and set of the session.  I’ll pick my favorites, the images I see with the best potential for enhancement and toss the rest.  This portion of sorting includes deleting duplicates and similar poses.  Instead of presenting you with 6 images that are basically the same, I’ll pick the best one and save you the time and decision making process.  Once my favorites are chosen, I’ll start editing.  To me, editing is more than touching up minor blemishes…it’s about enhancing your photos and taking them from professional portraits to custom art.

Take a look at the three small photos below (which are straight from the camera).  While they are all basically the same, Baby’s expression changes a little in each picture.  In the first photo, she’s eating her pearls.  This is cute, but you can’t exactly see her face with her hand and necklace in the way.  Go to the third photo, and you can see that she doesn’t look as happy as she did in the other two images.  The middle image, however, gives us just a tiny,sweet smile with Baby’s pearls hanging gracefully from her wrist.  Image number two was chosen for editing.  You can see the final version at the end of the strip, slightly larger than the others.  The large image is what Mom will see on her CD.

What exactly is editing:

A great photographer is able to capture personality, judge a great angle, and compose the best lighting without really thinking twice.  When most people look at an image taken by a professional photographer, more times than not they would be willing to purchase that image and notice it’s practically flawless nature.  However, as a professional in the business of custom photography, I choose to not only take great photographs, but also to enhance each of my favorites before sending them your way.  While most of your images will look great directly from my camera, I know I can make them even better with the multiple enhancement options I have in my “digital dark room” (aka, my top of the line editing software).  While professional images come from an expert eye, the enhancement process can mean the biggest difference between professional wall art and a very talented mom with a great camera.

Let’s look at a few enhancement details from some recent sessions.

Remember, I’m sparing you the book on photography, so here’s the short version.  Aside from changes you see that look like color quality, brightness, and shadows, you can also make note that very little cropping was done to any of the images posted above.  I do as much of my cropping as possible “in camera”…which means I judge the frame of each shot as I take it.  I do this because cropping a photo during the editing process makes your image file smaller.  If you’ve ever asked me to change an image from horizontal to vertical, you’ve probably heard me say something about the change in file size.  A smaller image file affects how large you can print or what you can use your photo for when it comes to personalized gifts like calendars and coffee mugs.    Of course, to most rules, there is an exception.    In this case, the exception to my “no cropping during editing rule” is to crop if necessary to capture cuteness!  About 99% of the time if I break my “no cropping” rule, it’s because I’m editing a toddler!  Toddlers are BUSY!  Often times I’ll frame their shot and then they move…ten feet away!  So, when I get the images to my computer, sometimes zooming in on cute little faces is more important (and more in focus) than an image with a great background or setting.  Check out the little girl below.  I’m pretty sure you can look up the word “busy” in any dictionary and find this sweet little face!  She was moving around as fast as I could keep up!  Her facial expression in this image is so cute, that I really wanted to put my focus there.  But, to capture that little expression, I had to crop the image.

In addition to all this “crop” talk, notice that Busy Baby here has a scratch on her face.  Surely this is from all of her moving about!  Part of my editing process includes “healing” blemishes like this one as well as MANY other bumps, bruises, and boogers!  In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve digitally cleaned more faces on my computer than I ever have in real life during my 12 years of being a mom! Okay, so maybe that’s a little gross…but it’s the truth… and better to hear that I clean it up, then to see that I left it alone when you receive the final product!

So to wrap up my mini backstage tour, you can see that each original image shown straight from the camera is acceptable on its own.  The final product is a more complete version of an already great photo.  And while it’s fun to take images home the day of your session, you miss the opportunity to see what a little patience can do for the investment you’ve made in your portraits!

Photographers often hear things like, “Wow!  Your camera takes great pictures!”  But, I read something from another photographer whose response was that a statement like that is similar to hearing, “Wow!  Your fancy new oven bakes great cupcakes!”  Obviously, a great camera is a necessary tool, but a lot of time and know-how goes into the end result of a great image!

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It’s been a little crazy around here lately and I’m a BAD blogger!!  2011 is now completely booked for the year.  And yes I agree it’s CRAZY!!  I knew with our competitive pricing we would be booked in advance however I never imagined being booked out six plus months!!  At this time because it’s somewhat of a logistical nightmare to manage we do not have a waiting list, instead anytime we have a last minute opening we will post it on the facebook fan page.  We do realize that not everyone is on facebook however with over 4,000 fans that is the fastest way to reach the most people .  We’re tossing around some different ideas for next year so that we won’t be booked so far in advance but nothing is set in stone yet.  Most of all I just want to say thank you thank you thank you thank you for trusting me with recording your precious memories….and loving my pictures enough to book so far ahead with me!!  And as usual some eye candy because no post is complete without some cuties!!

A little note from my pricing page on bookings

2011 is now booked.    Exceptions to this are maternity, newborn and gift certificates. I do my best to fit in maternity however it is best to schedule as soon as you know you’ll be wanting a maternity session.  For newborns you MUST be on my “due date” list.  This allows me to make room in my schedule for newborns and then once baby arrives we schedule your actual day and time.

If you have a gift certificate please let me know and I will do my very best to fit you in (advance notice is best as that will give us more flexibility with the dates you need).  At this time gift certificates are only available for purchase for a session that has already been scheduled or a newborn already on my due date list.

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I am so excited about the next season for JJP.  It’s difficult to juggle being a mom, a wife, and a business owner.  My husband KC and I are always looking for ways to maximize every opportunity. We want to please our clients and we also want to have a great balance to our lives. I have such wonderful, amazing clients that made me want to open up more sessions but at the same time maintain my sanity! Lol

Which leads me to my big news…. I’ve hired a summer assistant!  This has of course changed my session openings and I’ll be adding sessions, which brings the total number of sessions open May through November to 33.  I will be putting all of the dates and times here so that you can see exactly what is available.  If anyone has a session scheduled and one of the new dates works better for you, you are more than welcome to change it to an earlier date! Thanks everyone for being so great!

some of the times can be tweaked a little bit, just check with me

July 26th 10:00

Aug 1st 11:00

These next ones are flexible if you want one of these just let me know what day of the week/time of day works best for you

3 more the week of Oct 30th

1 more the week of Nov 6th

1 more the week of Nov 20th

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