JEN JOHNSON PHOTOGRAPHY

YOUR ANTICIPATION: CARLEE

JEN — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:30:24 +0000

Last week, I had the awesome pleasure of photographing my cousin Carlee. She’s expecting her third baby, who I know will be amazingly gorgeous like the older two! The reason I was thrilled to get her in front of my camera isn’t that she’s beautiful and easy to photograph, but rather that we grew up together and rather than just being my cousin, she’s also one of my best friends! She’s quirky and fun, intelligent and creative, and let’s face it, she’s just one of the coolest people I know!

We ran down to the Long Beach VA Hospital’s Community Garden. On the way in, I may or may not have gone the wrong direction down a one way street and got pulled over…but we got great shots and that’s all that matters, right?!

Thanks to my cuz Carlee for being as close as a sister and more than a friend! Your open heart is one of the most special parts about you and I’m so thankful for the role you play in my life! You’re a wonderful mom and I can’t wait to meet the new little one and see how your family grows! XOXO!!!

Carlee is an awesome blogger, too, and this shot is currently her avatar on her blog! I love it!Work it, Carlee!For her third outfit change, Carlee rocked an 80s look. It was amazing to see how quickly the quirk came out! She started working the old school poses, and suddenly channelled the inner high school dancer!Jazz hands…nuff said.

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR SECRET: BOUDOIR ALBUMS

JEN — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 04:06:14 +0000

A boudoir shoot is something special…but the end result is even better!

Elsie chose to create a Little Black Book for her husband’s birthday…I can’t wait to hear about his reaction!!!

When you order an album from Jen Johnson Photography, they come in two different formats; leather or linen. There are a number of saucy colors to choose from, too! And how perfect is this…my vendor is KISS Wedding Books!!! If you’re interested in learning more about my Little Black Books, please contact me right away and I’d be happy to answer any questions you may have!

This Little Black Book is actually HOT pink!The pages lay flat and are a nice thick weight. This is definitely not like the books you can order from digital image websites!

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR SECRET: ELSIE

JEN — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:35:07 +0000

Not long ago, I attended a networking event, where I gave away a boudoir session as one of the door prizes. Immediately after the winner was announced, I saw someone race across the party to tell me that SHE was the winner and that this was a challenge that she’d given herself some time ago, but that she had been SO NERVOUS to pull the trigger. We emailed and chatted about location, the fun goodies she wanted to go out and buy, and how surprised her hubby would be when she presented him with a book on his birthday. They’ve been married thirteen years and the spark is still there…before we even had our shoot, I fell in love with this great gal!

And on the day of the shoot, let me just tell you, if she had any nerves at all, I couldn’t tell. She was a natural in front of the camera and I just knew she was having a blast. I asked her to share her experiences and I hope that if you are considering a boudoir shoot and have any questions, that you’ll contact me right away! I’d love to ease any fears or concerns you have! But until then, I’ll let Elsie do it for me!

When I realized that I had WON a boudoir photo shoot at a bloggers event that I attended honestly, I panicked! I really don’t “love” to have my picture taken so the idea of having my picture taken in lingerie? Ahhhhhhhh NO, thanks! But Jen was super reassuring and upbeat from the beginning. She was very enthusiastic and patient as she answered all of my questions before the photo shoot day AND she sent be several really informative emails about what to bring and little tips on how to make the session really successful. I have to say it turned out that the photo shoot was an AMAZING experience! Jen has a lovely demeanor, professional but warm and personal, really SHE is the woman you want behind the lens particularly if like me you are participating with a little/a huge amount of trepidation. And then of course there are the images she captured. At this stage in my life (48 years old) I am not in possession of a 20 something’s bikini body so initially a boudoir photo shoot didn’t feel 100% right. Jen has such a lovely “bedside manner” that I felt beautiful and confident while she took my pictures and not to be immodest but I think it comes through in the photographs. My 93 year old aunt has a lovely saying “today is your most beautiful day” she say that in her 70”s she stopped enjoying having her picture taken but that she looks back on those pictures now and thinks “I looked good!”!! I’m certain that in years to come I will look back on these photographs and be thrilled to have such beautiful images by which to “remember me when”! If you’ve ever thought of doing a boudoir photo shoot, DO IT, you will be thrilled with the magic Jen creates with her camera!

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR SECRET: BRITTANY

JEN — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:35:32 +0000

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to meet up with the gorgeous Brittany for a boudoir session at the AVIA Hotel in Long Beach. It’s a spectacular location and she’s a spectacular girl!

One of the main reasons I LOVE boudoir photography is that every woman can pull this off. It’s not about the body or the looks, but rather the confidence and motivation behind the shoot that radiates through the camera! When a woman asks me for a boudoir shoot as a gift to her husband or fiancé, I am thrilled; I think of the moment her man opens his Little Black Book for the first time and smiles that smirky smile of pride, shock, and yes, even lust over HIS gal! Sure, at first, women think “oh, I could never do that” or “my body isn’t perfect, yet” and I’m here to tell you, when I’m shooting, I’ll do my best to make you comfortable…we’ll laugh, we’ll talk about how you’ll giggle with anticipation as you present him with the book, and that your eyes are here to do the talking, not your body! And yes, even thought I don’t have a perfect body, either, I CAN’T WAIT to do this for my future hubby!!!

But getting back to Brittany…she was a doll and I know she’ll love these images. She has beautiful eyes (which incidentally, I did zero photoshopping on) and her smile lit up the room. Enjoy!

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR PROMISE: JENI & MATT

JEN — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 20:22:45 +0000

A couple of weeks ago, I assisted my funny friend Ally at a wedding in Fullerton. The bride and groom, Jeni and Matt, were totally gorgeous, their wedding was beautiful and a reflection of God’s love, and their friends flippin’ rocked! I enjoyed this wedding so much that I wish I was a guest! I would have loved to have set my camera down and ran onto the dance floor with them. Isn’t that the BEST kind of wedding?

The beauty of second shooting a wedding (being the back up photographer), is that you can focus on details and unique shots. Ally was wonderful to work for, never made me feel like I was in her way, and gave me some great opportunities. She’s shooting Diana and Raphael’s wedding with me in August, so I’m excited to get to work with her once again!!!

The beautiful dress. I just love the look on mom’s face as she’s helping her daughter get ready…it’s a mixture of pride and emotion! Gotta love the giggles…they sooth the nerves and are good for the soul.

Look at the excitement and anticipation here!!! She can’t wait to see her groom!

Jeni only has eyes for Matt, but dad only has eyes for her. So sweet!

Mr. & Mrs.

After dinner, but before the cake was cut, an impromptu gave of Frisbee broke out. I love these people.

It’s really too bad that their friends were so shy.

This cake must have been good. There were serious lines to get it and people stalked the servers until their got their piece!

Grandma wasn’t playing…she found hers right away!

But these guys didn’t…so they went on a mission. : )

The daddy/daughter dance was so special…it always makes me choke up!

But then things got rowdy! Mom jumped onto the dance floor right away!

Congrats to Jeni and Matt!!! May you have a long and happy life together…and may you and your friends always have fun on the dance floor!

View my portfolio | Contact me

MY JOURNEY: BUSINESS COLLATERAL

JEN — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:44:12 +0000

I just received a package in the mail that I’ve been DYING to get…my new business cards. Ever since I went through a rebranding exercise, the opportunity to make Jen Johnson Photography look and feel more like ME, I’ve wanted to have collateral that I could distribute to folks. Having business cards in this day and age probably isn’t as important as an online presence, but I just couldn’t wait to have something in my hot little hands that I could pass out to interested future clients that says “Hi, I’m Jen. I’m classy and sassy and I want to take your picture!”

Through twitter and blogs and a referral, I found the AMAZING women at Posh Paperie. From the first email to the last shipment these two gals just got me. They knew how to extract ideas out of my mind and their customer service is BEYOND anything I’ve experienced to date. I enjoyed working with them so much, that I’ve decided to be a repeat customer. And I hope to meet them in person one day soon and call them friends, as well! So thanks so much to the uber-talented Karrie and Elizabeth…my package of business cards came today and I think they are just brilliant! XOXO!

View my portfolio | Contact me

MY JOURNEY: STILL LEARNING

JEN — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 05:10:32 +0000

On Thursday evening, I was privileged enough to join about twenty other photographers at the ShowIt Freedom Tour stop in Tustin (my hood!) at the lovely Wedding Pantry. The candid and informative Gabriel Ryan spoke about his journey and some of the lessons he’s learned along the way, Stephen Knuth spoke about how to make workflow move faster, Rudy Arpia spoke about web presence and customization for clients (he BLEW MY MIND!), and Jessica Claire closed the evening with myths and facts of successful industry professionals. The tour is all about giving photographers the tools to have more freedom in their careers so they can accomplish all of their goals. There was even a wonderful musician who did a mini-house show for us…Molly Jenson was really very talented and I enjoyed her work immensely!

I had so many take-aways that it was hard to put my finger on the best, but two stood out as major “ah ha” moments. One, Gabriel said to pick one thing and do it. It’s like that old question, how do you eat an elephant…one bite at a time. Not long ago, I made a major decision about the direction I want to take my photography career and while I haven’t made a splashy announcement, yet, I’m both excited and a little petrified. But with Gabriel’s encouragement, I’ve decided to pursue my goals by taking the next step; once that’s completed, I’ll move on the next and so on and so forth!

The second major “ah ha” was from Jessica. She asked everyone to raise their hand if they thought they were a good photographer and NOT A SINGLE PERSON had the confidence to raise their hand. But then she chided us and said that if we at least didn’t think we were a good photographer, that we should get out of business immediately OR tell it to ourselves every morning in the mirror until we believe it. WELL, I listened to Jessica and have already begun my homework!

Thanks to the ShowIt team for offering such a rockin’ opportunity, and especially to Gabriel, Rudy, and Jessica. I ate up so many amazing suggestions that I CAN’T WAIT to implement! I’m mentally exhausted still, but fueled with excitement to move forward!

Sorry for the messy mirror…yes, I do need to get out the ole Windex!

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR LOVE: DIANA & RAPHAEL

JEN — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 18:37:38 +0000

They met in a salsa dancing class and both agree that at first, SHE was the better dancer. It wasn’t long before he had taken the lead…and also her heart.

Diana and Raphael are getting married in August (in the church that I grew up in!) and I can’t wait to shoot their wedding. They are quiet, but connected in a special way; he whispers to her and she smiles brightly. Throughout our shoot, they had soft conversations that were only for each others’ ears…I almost felt like I was intruding on their time, but they were easy to work with nonetheless!

Diana and Raphael, I love your smiles and your hearts! I can’t wait for August 7…I know that you two will be beautiful and beaming! Thank you for choosing me to come along for the journey!

I told Raphael to look “GQ” for this image. I think he achieved it!

They are great dancers and so we HAD to incorporate some moves into our shoot! Look at how much she loves dancing with her man!!!

I.LOVE.THIS.SHOT.

I love a couple who knows how to have fun together!

I love to show off the bling and am so pleased with how this shot turned out!

When Diana told me that they wanted to change into their salsa dancing attire, I was so happy. How hawt are they?!

View my portfolio | Contact me

MY JOURNEY: DIGITAL IMAGES

JEN — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 06:10:03 +0000

I’ve recently received a few orders for images on disc. For those of you who might be interested in this product, you’ll see below how they are packaged and presented. As you can see, the case is just as much a momento as your images! If you’re interested in how you can take your favorite images home digitally, please contact me at any time!

View my portfolio | Contact me

YOUR ANTICIPATION: SARA & HECTOR

JEN — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 05:13:34 +0000

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with my friends Sara and Hector yesterday evening. You may remember that I shot some “day after” images for them a year ago. When I found out they were expecting, I was SO excited. They are a beautiful couple who love each other immensely, they love their family and friends, and they love the Lord. And NOW they’ve got a little bun in the oven who has taken over their hearts already! This little man is SO LOVED.

I loved the fact that early into her pregnancy, Sara shot me an email reserving the right to hire me down the road for their next set of images. They live in Orange and saw some of my previous maternity shots from the Circle/Plaza, so we decided to head back there. It was a hot afternoon, but Sara and Hector were cool cats. They laughed and smiled, joked around, and celebrated the fact that little Micah is on his way!

Sara and Hector, I am honored by your friendship and touched that you had me shoot these special images once again! I can’t wait to meet the new addition to your family! XOXO!

View my portfolio | Contact me