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five fact friday {round rock high school photographer}

#1

We are going on a night time zip line tour tonight!  Yay:) We went with this company one other time before, actually, on their opening day last year – July 23rd, for our anniversary, it was so much fun!  But, I am looking forward to it being a little different with the darkness, and honestly, not as hot! haha  I’m excited, and I’ve got my glow bracelets ready to go!  If you are in the area, and have not checked out this zipline company – I highly recommend them! http://www.ziplaketravis.com/  The crew was awesome, and obviously they are the best, because we are so excited to already be going again!  Zip on ….

#2

I put a note on fb letting other photographers know that I will be adding a question and answer to every FFF, and said feel free to ask me anything!  And you listened, so you all rock!  I am going to choose one or two every week, so don’t be afraid to ask whenever – just email me with the subject “FFF – Q&A” please, and thanks!!  I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!  This week I chose one from Tabitha, she asked how I created a certain photo, so I’ll spill, here it goes – this is the photo she asked about,

So, first off, you should know, this is a composite! haha  I am pretty good, but like I could ever get a 4yr old, 2yr old, and 4 month old to lay perfectly still and perfectly lined up for this, haha. I have actually done this shot 3 times, the first one about 3 years ago, and then another client saw and asked for it, then another after that, so this was my third time doing it, and I knew I had tried the hard way too many times! lol  So, here is how I do it now, hope it helps you!  I set up right in front of a window, with my back against it, so the light was falling right in front of me, and I placed a little toddler chair on the ground in the best light, sideways from me, and hung my black blanket over it, with the extra fabric folded over to the top side.  Then I took one kid at a time, and placed them on their back on the ground in front of me, so their feet were propped up onto the seat of the chair, knees bent, feet facing right toward me, like in the photo.  Then I had mom help keep them still and covered everything I could with my black blanket, and snapped some shots.  Onto the next kid, same thing, and with the baby I had to have mom hold her on her back level with the chair, feet straight out.  With each kid switch I had to make sure my camera was in the same spot too, if you have a tripod I would recommend it!  And you have to make sure your feet are lining up to the same location each time too, so you keep the proportions correct. That is a big thing, don’t forget that part, haha.  I took several shots with each kiddo, then in photoshop I picked the best ones to create my composite.  On two of the kids their best two feet were some different shots too, so this one above is actually 5 photos combined.  I edited each one separately, just enough for the crop, the wb, and to make the bg black black black.  I used the burn tool to help with sections where light had gotten on the blanket as well.  Then in photoshop I created a straight line guide, and lined up the feet using that, then made my few small edits to that flattened finished photo, a little curves, and sharpen:) That definitely seems like a lot, but mommas love this shot!  They ask for it, and they print it big:) So I hope that way helps some of you!  I’d love to hear from you if you try it out:) And feel free to shoot me an email with any questions for next week!

#3

I FINALLY got in the other chair for my office!  That only took 4.5 months - ridiculous, Pier 1.  Oh well, what ya gonna do?!  I am thrilled with it, and my office is almost ready to show off – yep, show off, cause I am totally pleased with it:) Instagram sneak peek?  Sure!

 

#4

I won $100 Simply Cash last week, thank you very much.  I pretty much exclusively use ProDPI now (LOVE) but I’ll take it! haha  I wanted to try something new, so I ordered one of their metal slim-line prints.  I think since I stopped using them (Simply Color Lab), their turn around has definitely improved, so that was a big plus! I thought it was a good deal too, for under $50 I got an 11×14 metal print with a stand, delivered. Not bad:) And, I actually love it!  The color is great, maybe if I was being super picky, a tad cold, but honestly I don’t know if that is because it’s printed on a sheet of metal, or because my monitor is calibrated to ProDPI.  I think it’s a great addition to my office, and I am very pleased with it!  It shows I can print pretty much anything, offer tons of options, and I have to give kuddos to our pro print labs – even though the big box stores come out with everything, at least we pretty much always get a head start:) Way to stay ahead of the game!  Anyway, here’s an instagram snap of it, and more on that issue in fact 5, ugh

Sorry that’s the best I can do right now for showing that thing off:(

#5

All my gear is gone – yep, all of it – so sooo sad:( It will be back, so I should be happy about that at least, right?!  It’s so weird, in 7 years I have never been without pro gear!  I went to just snap some pics the other day, and I totally couldn’t.  Why?  Cause my gear is on it’s own little selfish journey to the Canon repair center, all the way in CA, boooo!  I needed the camera cleaned, but more importantly with some lens line up changes I was having major focus issues, so it’s all off to be calibrated and fixed, and I miss it so much already – things just aren’t the same around here, haha.  I will have a full report when it all gets back, but wish me luck … please:)

HAPPY FRIDAY!

mom - I so VERY PROUD of you girl …love you”

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Lauren {Round Rock High Class of 2012}

Blog readers, I’d love to introduce Lauren!  She’s funny, easy going, and as gorgeous as they come!

She’s a “goal line gal” and a “baseball babe”  How stinkin’ cute is that?!!

 Her favorite clothing store?  Forever 21 or Zara

If she could live in a movie it would be Step Brothers, heehee

Her favorite course in school is English

Her first purchase for her own place will be … furniture!  Good thinking girl;)

Her favorite website is Facebook!

The last thing she ate was Chuys!  Yummmm

She is going to college to major in Criminal Justice, how cool huh?!

And did I mention she is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L ?!!

Yep, she is!  Lauren, it was my pleasure to work with you and capture your fun Senior portraits!

I wish you all the best as you make your way into the adult world!

Darin Crofton - Love your style!!! Fantastic photos Jenn!!!

Megan Menke - Stunning shots! I adore how you share fun facts between each image!

Kara Trombetta - Fabulous images! Love the new blog! Much love, Kara Marie

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Caitlin {Round Rock Photographer}

Caitlin contacted me because she needed some fun photos of herself for her new photography website!  How cool is that?!  I have so much fun shooting other photographers, they are outgoing, we have the same interests, and they get my crazy weird passion for photos, haha.   Caitlin was no exception to my fondness for this type of shoot.  We had a great time, got to know each other, chatted shop, and snapped some fun pics along the way.  I hope you love your pics Caitlin, I had a great time, you’re too cute, and I cannot wait to hang out again!  Thanks for choosing me to capture these! I wish you the best with your business!

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five fact friday

It’s been a while huh?!

#1

I went to see J* on tour with The FIX, in Dallas a couple weeks ago!  It was really cool to get to meet her, JD, David Jay, and the whole crew!  It was a gorgeous night, with a stunning set-up, and everyone was so open about anything and everything, it was totally motivational!  I hope you get the chance to go, if you haven’t already!

#2

I launched my new site, then 2 weeks later changed it again, haha.  Bad habit.  But, I SWEAR, this time it was legit! haha  I made the switch over to HTML5, which is totally awesome!  No more flash for me, I’m movin’ on up!  You have got to go check it out on your smart phone or tablet, because it’s the same! Yep, same as on the computer, but on your iPhone.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE A LOOK, YEP, LIKE I SAID, EVEN IF YOU’RE ON YOUR PHONE!

I somehow feel like I’ve arrived because of this, haha.  Call me crazy, but it totally makes my day!  Way to go ShowIt!  Oh, and on a little side note, this past month marked my 3yr anniversary with ShowIt!  In the past 3 years I have had complete creative control over my website, and never once had to worry about any of that techy stuff.  THAT is amazing!

#3

Ever since those gorgeous camera bags started coming out, I have been so jealous of all of you cute bag owners!  I don’t travel a lot, a couple times a year, but when I do I have to have my laptop with me, and it’s a 17 incher.  None of the cutesy bags had space for that, so I would search and search and just end up sad.  BUT, then Kelly Moore saved the day, well, the month, or year!  She introduced some new bags, and one was perfect for me, the Libby!  It’s a beast of bag, but oh so stunning, the perfect combo for me!  I ordered the Libby in lavender, of course I had to match my branding, haha, and now I am a happy camera bag owner.  So, I just wanted to share that with all of you, because it makes me smile.  Plus, when the bag arrived, it took my breath away (is that weird?)  It is even more stunning in person, and sooooo perfect for all my gear!  Here’s a cell snap of my new baby, go ahead and drool just a little, after all, I had to endure like a year of pining for a beautiful bag before getting my grubby little hands all over this one! haha  But, then you should totally go check out her bag site, because I bet there is a beauty that would fit your needs too, and then you can be super excited over a bag, just like a weidro, or eh-hum, like me:) Happy Shopping!

#4

I have made major progress on my office!  I’m so proud of myself, haha  Just about ready to bring in the clients!

#5

I am way late to this whole Instagram thing, but totally obsessed.  You may have noticed all my cell snap pic shares today are Instagram pics.  I said I MAY be obsessed, verdict is still out though;)

You can follow me if you want, I will totally follow you back, I’m cool like that.

@MesmerizingMoments

HAPPY FRIDAY!

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Sniggs’ Angry Birds Party!

Well, I cannot believe my little guy turned 5!  I know it’s like a broken record from all parents, but how does time go by so fast??  When I was little it was ok for me to grow up quickly, of course I wanted too, haha, but now, now that I’m a mom, it’s just not ok anymore.  So, take note kids.  Thanks.  Moving on…

Sniggs is obsessed with Angry Birds, so of course I had to give the boy what he wanted, a huge Angry Birds party!  I’ve been planning and working on it for a few months now really, and it was so much fun, more than we all could have imagined I think, Connor was grinning from ear to ear for a solid 24 hours, I have to think his cheeks must have hurt:) It was worth all the time I put into it, with a yard packed full of happy families, (about 50 people total) and that stinky little smile from Sniggs!

I wanted to share some pics, so here they are – hope you are all having a great week!

Rachel - Jen-

These are awesome! I’m sure Connor had a blast! I always love seeing his party decor each year, you do such a good job with the planning and party prep! He sure is a lucky kid! :)

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