Get healthy. The fun way.

This is Seattle Health Coaches‘ main premise. When Jill contacted me to do photos for her website, I was thrilled to work with her. I learned about her approach to health and food and loved every bit of it. Her ideas for the photos were so fresh and fun, I couldn’t wait to have her in front of the camera.

While we were working at the studio, I asked he how she, a successful woman with a business background, decided to branch out to and plunge deep into this exciting, healthy, and challenging adventure. For Jill, Seattle Health Coaches is all about showing busy women how to fit healthy living and exercise into their bustling schedules, so they can feel their best, without breaking their stride or the bank.

“There’s a good reason why our motto is Get Healthy. The Fun Way,” she said to me. She also pointed out that at Seattle Health Coaches they “infuse this philosophy into everything we do, whether it’s devising fun-for-the-whole-family recipe ideas or inventing a workout routine that really fits each client’s unique personality like a glove.”

Our conversation during the session then turned to how Seattle Health Coaches help women with issues such as weight loss, increasing energy, stress reduction, and healing digestive issues. Are you transitioning to a new eating lifestyle—raw, gluten-free, vegan or vegetarian—and needing to identify food sensitivities? If you say yes or want to nod right away, talk to Jill. Through meal planning and meal preparation, Seattle Health Coaches can help with food-related health issues, picky eaters and eliminating cravings. They even have detailed plans for pregnancy and postpartum nutrition available.

Enjoy the fun images we got out of Jill’s session!

Jill has a great motto: grab the life by the artichoke!

Jill has a wonderful approach to health and food

Check out Jill’s website by clicking here

You can do it! Learn how to manage your busy schedule with a little bit of Jill’s magic

]]> http://www.valentinavitols.com/2011/08/10/featured-client-a-fabulous-seattle-health-coach-named-jill/feed/ 0 http://www.valentinavitols.com/2011/08/10/featured-client-a-fabulous-seattle-health-coach-named-jill/ http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ValentinaVitolsStudio/~3/_BASsc8r354/ http://www.valentinavitols.com/2011/08/08/camera-batteries-bought-the-rainier-cherries-print-a-ticket-to-atlanta/#comments Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:11:33 +0000 Valentina Vitols http://www.valentinavitols.com/?p=1778 Last week I decided to do a giveaway for our Facebook and Twitter followers. The premise was simple: answer a question and if it matches ours, we’ll include your name in our drawing.

This was the question:

“What is the MOST important thing you should always carry in your camera bag? If your answer matches ours, your name will be entered in a draw to win! Hint: it’s not the camera…”

We got a good amount of clever answers ranging from memory cards to flash, and some funny ones that also apply. In fact, our friend Greg Johnson won a print too for his “pen and paper” suggestion. The one that made me smile wider was Emily Resling’s “kleenex”. Of course, our creative minds started to think about sentimental and/or affected by the heat subjects!

Our winner is Adrián Velázquez from Atlanta, GA. He won a 5×7 print on Kodak Endura Metallic Paper of the image above. Congratulations, Adrián!

Winner announced, our answer is batteries. That includes variations as charger (this answer was included in the draw), and extra battery. In all the years we’ve been teaching photography, dead batteries are always what will bring your photo outing or session to an abrupt end. Only if you’re lucky to have a camera that holds AA batteries, you’ll be able to solve this problem quite easily. But most cameras come with proprietary lithium-ion batteries that can’t be replaced with AAs or even batteries from the same brand you’re using. An example of this is Nikon cameras. A D700 will function with a battery different from the Nikon D7000, for example.

Memory cards is also a good answer to this question. The difference with the battery, is that you can pop in a drugstore and find extra memory cards to purchase. Of course, it’ll cost you more than buying them online but your problem can be solved if you have access to a drugstore or a discount department store. You may be lucky and find the proprietary lithium-ion battery for your camera but most likely, I won’t happen.

How do you solve a battery problem? These are our suggestions:

1. Buy one or two extra lithium-ion batteries. Make sure they are the right model for your camera.

2. Bring your charger along. Batteries drain slightly different depending on amount of photos taken, altitude and environmental temperatures. When you have your charger with you, it’s easier to solve a dead battery problem as power sources may be available. A charger can be plugged into a cigarette lighter on a car and/or an electrical outlet (easy to find in restaurants and coffee shops, for example).

3. If you’re traveling, make sure you bring an extra camera or a battery pack that works with AA batteries. Drainage is not the only thing that can happen to lithium-ion batteries. They can break, be stolen, lost, or just wear out over a period of time. I once saw someone opening the battery chamber in their camera only to see her only battery available “diving” into a puddle of water.

4. Another tip for travelers is to buy a travel power plug-adapter.

Thanks to everyone that participated. We love doing these giveaways and used random.org to pick our winners. Please stay tuned for more!

* Important note: I’m not endorsing or recommending any particular brand or product on this post. My mention of Nikon products is because I own this equipment and I have experience manipulating it. This is NOT a paid post or advertisement for Nikon or any other store/equipment/brand. When buying equipment, please do your own research.

If you’re looking to refresh your headshot, have a family portrait session, get a visual prove that your dogs look great when occasionally groomed, or need to document the unfolding life of your child-to-be, contact us. We will pick up our camera and tell your adventures with light humor or send out you looking sharp in case you need to take care of serious business.

(Psst, virtual-dating chicos and chicas, this is a perfect opportunity to get those eloquent yet slightly mysterious photos you need to charm a potential better-half).

July, August and September are mini-session months! During Summer 2011, we’re offering a short version of our portrait session for $150 + $50 editing fee + tax. Prepare yourself for a 30-minute session where you can go for studio photos—in front of the dazzling lights—or and outdoor session—al fresco! It also includes 10 final images (high and web-resolution), up to two outfit changes, a link to access printing quality files and a Zenfolio gallery for three months.

You may get a bonus of laugh-out-loud time and/or food-related conversation. Trust me, people looks its best when they’re told about things like a Triple-layer almond meringue cake with blackberries and cream. Mac ‘n cheese talk also gets very nice smiles going.

Interested? Email your inquiries and schedule preferences to studio (at) valentinavitols.com and studio (at) valenvitols.com. We’d love to hear from you!

***

(Our fabulous clients featured on this post, from top to bottom: Jennifer Carroll from Bellefleur Lingerie; Hsiao-Chin Chou, from Suzuki + Chou Communimedia; Dr. Heidi Montoya, University of Washington graduate; Miss A, the lovely little one from Utopia Entertainment; Model for O’ Shaughnessey Apparel; Magdalena Wszelaki from Yatra Coach; Claudia, from Choice Pepper and Produce at Pike Place Market; and Jill Ginsberg from Seattle Health Coaches)

* Please, send an email to studio (at) valentinavitols.com or studio (at) valenvitols.com for inquiries about availability and scheduling.

* Not valid outside Seattle, for commercial/product session, weddings or one-hour or longer sessions.

* Children must be accompanied by their legal guardians at all times during the session.

* Pets must be accompanied by their owners. For groups of 3 to 5, an extra $20 fee per person applies.

* Not valid for groups over 5 people.

* A CD is available upon request and at an extra cost. Prints are not included.




 

This is not the first time I have worked with this organization. It’s always a pleasure to plan talks and workshops with the lovely and smart Dawn Rutherford, the Teen Services Coordinator for Sno-Isle Libraries. Dawn is deeply committed to offer the best and most enjoyable activities to teens in the community.

The workshop will take place on Wednesday, March 2nd, from 4-6pm.  The only requirement is to be prepared to learn photography while having fun snapping some pictures on site. I am thrilled! There are few things as entertaining and enriching as working around (and with) the magical point of view and perspective of children and teens!

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday time.  We did, soaking up all the beautiful, warm sun in Caracas and having some outstanding time with friends and family and, of course, eating!

I am very happy to have Magdalena Wszelaki from Yatra Coach (my first Brooklyn client!) as the first featured client of 2011. I’ve known Magdalena for a few years now and can vouch for her extensive knowledge about food and health.  I truly respect her insight and feedback when it comes to leading a healthier and still delicious lifestyle!

I truly enjoyed making the photos for her beautiful website.  From the moment we sat down to brainstorm–where she was committed to get THE best, most compelling and honest imagery to go with the content–to our shopping trip for the session, it was a delight to see all the care that Magdalena puts into the process.  It was a true learning experience for me, and I got to enjoy every step of what her clients will get from Magdalena when hiring her.

It is amazing the difference it makes knowing how to read a label properly; or how kale goes better with this or that spice, and how this combination will impact on your digestive system; it’s always good to know what kind of fish you should buy to be good to mother nature and to your body. These and many other things Magdalena got to tell me will make a great impact on your lifestyle and health.

I can’t wait to experience the same fun we had in our shopping trip in Seattle when I visit and use her services in NYC, which I hope will be soon!  Enjoy the fun images.

Happy Holidays and all the best for 2011.

As a good Philadelphia daughter, she’s also a fervent fan of  The Eagles.  Even though she was born and raised there,  she has called many places home over the past fifteen years. Still, she’s planning to go back and we are both hoping that I will take her photos in her beloved hometown someday.

We spent a late Summer afternoon walking around Pike Place Market, Post Alley and Harbor Steps, three of my favorite places in town to make outdoor studio work.  Kristin’s versatility came across very strongly throughout the session.  Every photograph shows a different aspect of her personality.  All of these were taken the same day and yet, each one is a true, unique image.

It was very interesting for both of us to work together.  Imagine a geographer, passionate about urban spaces, and a photographer who is in love with every inch of the city she lives in (add to that the baseball love chat, too!).

Match made in heaven, I must say!

Also, there is something very special about the fact that Kristin is a geographer: my beloved Latvian Grandmother, Valentina, was a geographer, too. She studied Geography at the  University of Riga and graduated a few years before they fled the country due to World War II.

What an interesting coincidence, isn’t it?

Enjoy these great and joyful images of this lovely lady.  I am happy and honored to be able to work with people like Kristin.

I am also very proud and happy to announce that the Studio now has an online store!  Click HERE to access to all the Fine Art prints we have for sale now.  Honoring Small Business Saturday and the holiday weekend, we are offering the prints with a 25% off. Our photographs are C-Prints, printed on high-quality Kodak Endura Papers and framed on Nielsen-Bainbridge Artcare frames, one of the world’s leading producers of high quality picture framing products.

Happy shopping!