Thursday, January 28, 2010

Mike & Kristin: Engaged!

Mike and Kristen have been a loooong time coming on the blog. I did their engagement shoot last month when I was in Denver. Kristen and I had been emailing back and forth about their wedding and working out a time for engagement pictures for a month or two already but I didn't actually meet her until the day of the shoot.

Lemme tell ya world, she was aaaadorable.
Infectious laugh? check.
Eyes that sparkle every time she looks at her guy? check.
O-so-happy-to-be-in-love glow? check.

Engagement shoots can be a bit nerve-wracking for both me and the couple because alot of the time you are inviting a near stranger to get all up close and personal with you as they document your love. But as awkward as it may be at the beginning it always ends up being SO much fun! And really it's the best way for you the couple and I the photographer to get to know each other and have a "practice run" for your wedding day! I love getting to know my couples in this fun relaxed setting, and really, what could get better than taking pictures of people in love?

It's seriously suuuuuch a fun job. I kid you not :)

Mike and Kristen were so adorable, and their love was so sweet to watch. He is her protector and she looks up to him with such a trusting attitude. He carried her multiple times through the snow so her feet wouldn't be cold, so he obviously won fiance of the year award ;)








































Can't wait to shoot y'alls wedding this June, if it's anything like you two, it will be unforgettable!

Much Love.
Jessica Shae

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Haven't even packed my toothbrush yet. . .

I'm a horrible blogger.

There. I've said it.
As much as I love doing it (sometimes) and as much as I have to blog ABOUT right now, sometimes I just feel like blogging gets pushed to the bottom of the pile. Especially when I'm faced with a decision like: answer client emails -- or blog? Or: Edit pictures -- or blog? ummm...blogging usually gets demoted to the bottom of the pile. And I leave tomorrow at 9:25 AM for the beginning of my month long travels.
I haven't packed a single thing. ummm....maybe I should think about doing that?
So this is an extremely short little post to let you know that I am alive, and I will be posting some awesome stuff here (including the make-you-wanna-squeal pictures from my vintage shoot) soon!

Here's a little peek at my happy month ahead:
Jan. 13-25 Denver, CO
(Friends friends and more friends! All my college age buddies are still on their break up there so we are gonna party it up before they head back to college to hit it hard again :)

Jan. 25-27 San Fransisco, CA
(I get to see my adorable San Fran family for a couple of days. YaY!)

Jan. 27-Feb. 3 Grass Valley, CA
(My bff from CA is turning 21 *gasp! we are so old!!! And I get to go help her celebrate. We are gonna PARTY people! :)

Feb.3-8 Purcelleville, VA
(I had to say goodbye to my best friend/bro this morning when we he headed back to college, but happy news people! I'm going to see him for a few days next month...gotta make sure he is actually learning something over there:P)

Feb. 8-9 Washington DC
(Remember the amazingly awesome miss Kristen Leigh I interned with last summer?? Well guess whaaaat?!? I'm going to see her! And while I'm at it, I think I might just HAVE to squeeze in some time with my lovely cupcake Ica. I'm pretty sure it's gonna be fun :)

Feb 9-12 Washington DC
(Last but not least I am going to Dane Sanders Fast Track Photographer's workshop and it is going to be outofthisworldAMAZING. I know it, and I can't wait to get back and implement all the awesomeness he is going to teach me. It is all the more exciting because I am going with some uber cool people like Sarah Danaher and Becca Murray--who, btw I have never met, but really really can hardly wait to meet because I have heard tales of her amazingness for some time now. There are still a few spots open if anyone is interested in attending!)


*Sneak peek from my awesome shoot with Elisabeth Carol. Kudo's to her for this picture!*

So I think I had better run now, maybe should start thinking about what I need to pack?

Much Love.
Jessica Shae

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

I'm happy and I know it...

Clap Clap Clap
I could hardly sleep last night from excitement. I know, I know...how dumb does that sound?!? Isn't that only for kids 12 and under on Christmas Eve--losing sleep over excitement? O No. Absolutely not.

Since I know you are probably ALL asking, "Why are you so excited Jessica Shae???" O well. . .PLEASE, let me tell you ;)

Today I have a shoot with the amazing Elisabeth Carol that is going to be so out of this world, I might die from happiness while shooting. But what a way to go right...? With my finger on the shutter button ;P Juuuust kidding. I have no intention of dying, I'm going to be very alive all afternoon and having the time of my life.

Although I do get excited about every shoot I do (pretty much anytime I'm holding a camera you can bet I'm a happy girl :) this one is different. Elisabeth is another photographer in the area and we have been planning this shoot for over a month now. And here is why it's a little different. We will be shooting each other, the shoot is themed{!!!} and I have some of the most amazing locations scouted out.

So about this (OmywordI'mgonnadieIcan'twaitforthis) shoot, here is a little sneak peak into what we have planned. For the theme think something along the lines of -- vintage/Anthropologie/Audrey Hepburn/utter awesome-ness + some of our own uniquely creative ideas thrown in. It will involve a vintage bike, a little dog, some of my great-grandmothers hats, and adorable clothing.



O yes, I'm happy and I know it. . .and I am definitely clapping my hands ;)
Can't wait to share the actual pictures with y'all. Stay tuned!
Much Love.
Jessica Shae

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Announcing Happy Things

So.

I like starting my posts out like that...have you noticed? It just seems, Oh I don't know, so nice and friendly. Like I'm about to tell my best friend about the hilariously embarrassing thing that happened to me earlier this afternoon. And you are all practically like BFF's, right? (please don't say no and shatter the dream world I live in.) Well, I don't have any embarrassing stories to share with you today (I guess I should say that I have them, just none that I would like to write out here for the whole world to see. I've got to keep my image up, right??? ;) but what I do have to share is definitely exciting.
So.

Um, you will probably laugh when I tell you this, buuut, guess what?!? I'm headed back to Denver in two weeks! I know I know....I'm addicted to that place I think. I've thought about just moving back, but then I decided that paying for an plane ticket back each month is cheaper than paying for rent to live there. Smart of me huh? :) I will actually be going straight from Denver to Sacramento (more specifically Grass Valley, CA) and then straight from there to D.C.!!!
My schedule will look something like this:
Denver: Jan.13-25
Sacramento: Jan. 25-Feb. 4
D.C.: Feb. 4-12
(These dates may change a little bit, but generally speaking that is what I'm planning on doing)

And I am definitely booking more shoots in all three locations! I already have a couple lined up, and I have decided not to do as many this time around (8 shoots in 11 days was a little much for me last time :P) so if you would like to book a portrait session with me, let me know asap! And I am offering a %10 percent end of year sale to those of you who book with me by the end of day Friday, Jan. 1st! If you are interested shoot me an email @ jessicashaephotog@gmail.com

And that brings me to exciting thing #2. On a daily basis I get emails from so many of you, who are also photogs, with questions about camera equipment, blog templates, starting a business, editing software, etc. I LOVE hearing from you all, and I honestly can't believe you would trust me with your questions! I must admit though, that I am terrible at getting back to you all, and I feel horrible about that! So here are a couple ways I have come up with to get back to you in a timely and practical manner.

The first is utilizing the discussion board on my Facebook page! I am going to begin posting some of the questions that I have received in emails from you all, and then I can do my best to answer them there, where everyone can get the benefit of reading them. I receive alot of the same types of questions from you all so this way I wont be writing 4 different emails telling you all the same thing! I am sure that there will be times that someone has questions that I may not know the answer to, and my hope is that some of you photographers will pitch in and give tidbits of advice as well!

The other thing that I will be offering, are caffeinated convo's. Ooook, so that was cheesy. More simply put: a one-on-one, face to face meeting with me, at a Starbucks of your choice, where you get to fire off questions for 3 hours and I will do my best to answer them! Now, here is why I have been hesitant to do this. I know that there are about 304,728 other photographers who would be more qualified to do something like this, and could answer your questions much better than I could. But, I remember what it was like when I was first starting out, and I didn't know what it even meant to start a photography business and I was looking for anyone a little further down the road to push me in the right direction. And I had several awesome mentor's who helped me alot, and I would love to be able to do the same for you!

I will be offering these sessions for $150 this trip! You will get 3 hours of my undivided attention plus I will do a quick shoot at the end of your beautiful face to get pictures for you to use for your blog/website :) I am open to doing them in any of the 3 cities I will be in, and if you are interested you can email me and we will make it happen!

And since we are on the topic of exciting news, here is one last little bit of it. I have been saving for a new camera for months now, and finally made the leap and bought it a few days before Christmas. So I am now the very ecstatic owner of a Canon 5D. Now here is my dilemma. I have heard both sides of the "Name your equipment/Don't name your equipment" debate and I'm not to sure who to side with. So here is the question I leave you with, does my camera deserve a name? And if so, what should it be?!?



Mr. _____________?
(Because obviously he's a boy ;)

Much Love,
Jessica Shae

**EDIT** I just sold the camera...thanks so much for all of your inquiries! Congrats to Grace: hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)
P.S. I will be selling my old camera (Canon Rebel XTi) and if any of you are interested in purchasing it let me know! I am planning on putting it on Craigslist within the next week, so if you want it shoot me an email and I can send you more info on it!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Working in a Winter Wonderland

I am feeling completely un-motivated to do any sort of work right now. Because a very spectacular thing is happening right outside my window AS WE TYPE. Or, as I type, and possible even as you read...depending on how soon you read this ;)

It. Is. Snowing.

Yes, read that again. And then read this, it's snooooowing!!! Hear the joy in those words :) It is snowing, in Texas, for the 3rd time this month. Told you it was spectacular. So who wants to work when something like that is happening??? I'm thinking that a book, a fire, my comfy sweats and some hot chocolate are more in order right now. Or maybe a walk thru the wintry wonder.

But here is where you all clap and cheer for me, because I AM NOT giving in to the urge to be lazy. Please, I need the encouragement...aren't you all proud of me?!? Would you like to know what I have done this afternoon? Good, because I am going to tell you. I cleaned my room. Answered emails. Edited pictures. Posted pictures on Facebook. And now I'm blogging. Whoa...how's that for accomplishment?!? And might I remind you, there is SNOW on the ground outside, and snow falling from the sky. Snow that I would really like to be feeling on my face right now. I thought about some outdoor blogging, but I'm not too sure how much my poor computer would like that.

I have been wanting to share some of my fun Christmas pictures with you all, but I my CF card decided to be cantankerous with me today and I'm going to have to have it repaired before I can get the pictures off of it. BUT, I ran outside a few minutes ago and had my sister take some pictures of me in the snow to document this happy occasion! :)

I hope you all enjoyed your Christmases very much and have a Happy New Year!!!


Much Love.
Jessica Shae

Monday, December 28, 2009

Prosky Family Session: Denver CO

It's always so much fun reconecting with old friends through photoshoots, and I seem to be doing alot of that here recently! Jennica and I were in youth group together way back when, like 6 years ago. We sang together in adult and youth choir, even sang in a trio with together, and we also helped lead our youth groups worship on Wednesdays nights there for a while.

YaY for Facebook and keeping in touch with old friends because when Jennica saw that I was coming to Colorado again, she wrote me asking about the possibility of doing a family shoot with her new little family! I was so happy to get to do it, and meet the adorable little smiley guy they recently added to their family :)

It was so much fun to meet the rest of your family Jennica and your little guy is a heartbreaker for sure!
Thanks for the fun times!





We had to move the shoot indoors somewhat last minute because of the freezing cold outside. We just happened to be near this amazing building in downtown Denver, with tons of natural lighting, Christmas Trees, and Poinsettias, I was so happy :)


This little guy just cranked out the smiles the whole time thanks in part to my assistant Krista, who was busy dancing and doing who-knows-what-kinda-crazy-stuff behind my head while I was taking pictures. But also because he was just a totally happy baby!


This little guy looooves his mommy :)


How adorable is that...?!?!
VERY adorable let me assure you ;)





Jennica was so creative and brought along several adorable props, including a santa hat and Christmas storybook!








I love this one...isnt he a cutie?


Mommy's kisses are always the best!


Aaaaaand my favorite! Check out his amazing eyes!


Much Love,
Jessica Shae