Newborn Session Sneak Peek!

Today, I shot my first newborn session and I LOVED every minute of it. You may recognize Nhi and Hieu from our many maternity sessions. ;-) Well, their little bundle of joy Miss *C* was born last Saturday and I had the opportunity shoot her while's she's 'fresh from the womb.' With newborn sessions, it's best to shoot the baby within the first 10 days of their life. Why? Because they sleep - ALOT and their bodies are so soft and pliable that I'm able to position them anyway I want. :-)

Nhi and Hieu enjoy your sneak peek and the slideshow will be up soon - promise! :-)

May 24 - 30, 2007

May 24 - 30, 2007 - I will be out of the office. All phone calls and e-mails will be returned upon my return. Hopefully, I'll have LOTS of new and exciting images to share. Until next week. . . .

Gary and Antonette Family Session

A few weeks ago, I FINALLY got the chance to photograph my cousin's beautiful family. Some of you may recognize my baby twin! ;-)

Enjoy the slideshow!

John and Jen Family Session

I had a so much fun photographing John and Jen's small family. Just by hanging out with them, you can tell how much in love they are with their baby boy. It's families like these that make me want to have a baby right now. :-P

I absolutely love the way their pictures turned out! I especially like how they look converted to black/white or split-tone - I think it makes them more "classic." What I mean by classic is - 10, 20, 30 years down the road they look to have stood the test of time and not look dated or trendy.

I had such a hard time narrowing down the images for the slideshow - I loved them all! (this is why the pictures transition so fast :-P )

J^2 - enjoy your slideshow and the proof gallery will be up later this evening: (click below)

*N*'s Portrait Session Slideshow

Editing *N*'s portrait session was a breeze! (I also included a few of *C* for fun!)

Click HERE for your proof gallery. (password is in your e-mail)

Enjoy the slideshow!

Click the square in the middle below:

Miss *N* (and *C*): Portrait Session SNEAK PEEK!

Earlier today I had an AWESOME portrait session with *N* - complete with wardrobe changes. :-) For this session, I really wanted to push my photographs, both creatively and technically, to new heights. Lately, I feel as if I'm a little too attached to my wide angle zoom lens. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT lens, but I think the zoom has made me a little lazy. :-P With a zoom, I can go wide or close without moving a step. This is great for events (and engagement sessions) to catch those "moments." On the flip side, by not changing my position I feel I'm losing a bit of my creativity by not playing with angles, depth of field, etc.

For this session, I purposely left my wide angle zoom lens at home and ONLY brought along two primes - the 85mm and 50mm. In other words, no zooms! I also purposely left my flash at home so I had no choice but to utilize the natural light and change my settings as the light change. (which it did - ALOT!)

The verdict? I absolutely LOVE using my primes and Miss *N* was the PERFECT subject.

Check out her sneak peek:



I LOVE how I caught natural catchlights in this image:


This is our "city-girl" picture:


No janelle lynn photography session would be complete WITHOUT jumping pics! ;-)

This is *C*, *N's* little sister.

These images are pretty much straight out of the camera with just a small bump in curves to give them a bit of "pop." How cool is that?! This session is going to be soooooo easy to process! :-)

Nature Art Shots and a Casting Call. . . sort of

Recently, I was asked if I would take flower/nature shots to go on the walls of a local law office. I don't want to show the traditional, boring, macro, flower in the center of the frame shot you see all the time. I want my shots to be interesting enough to make people stop and think, "hmmmm...that's cool!" :-P

So, yesterday, literally minutes before the thunderstorm arrived, I took pictures of the remaining flowers left on my deck. (In Texas, we get one, maybe two, months of Spring. Once May hits the flowers start to wilt and die. :-( ) The lighting was PERFECT and I was so pleased with the exposure that all I did in photoshop was adjust the contrast a bit and voila!

I was also asked to provide images of groups of children and families of all different ethnicities playing, goofing off, etc. I have several families in my gallery that will probably be included in the portfolio but I need more! So, in the next week or so I will be posting a casting call of sorts. If you have any friends or family that would like AWESOME pictures of themselves let them know that I have a great opportunity for them! (free session!)

Antonette, Gary, Marley and Malia Sneak Peek

My weekend ended with photographing Antonette, Gary, Marley and Malia. I had a blast and here's your sneak peek: (I promise to write more about the session later. ;-) )

The beautiful parents:

Have I shared this?

Last month, my baby neice, Malia, celebrated her 1st birthday! Malia and I have a special connection - everytime we're in a room together my Aunt will go on and on how Malia's looks just the way I did when I was a baby. What do you think?

Aren't we adorable!!?? ;-)

Click HERE for Malia's 1st Birthday Party slideshow.

Introducing. . .

janelle lynn photography's new business manager!

ain't he handsome. ;-)

My hubby, Todd, has been promoted to Business Manager! Previously, he had been regulated to "assistant" - schelping bags, holding the light stand, uploading CF cards, etc. :-P He'll still be working in those capacities but will also take on all the administrative stuff I'm starting to get bogged down in. In terms of client relations, administrative stuff includes: collecting contracts, payments, placing/mailing album and print orders, album design and communicating with clients regarding their orders.

His e-mail address is:

todd@janellelynnphotography.com

So, if you receive an e-mail from him, know you're talking to my "better-half." :-P

Image Info: The setting is our front driveway, using the car headlights and off camera flash for lighting. Very modern and edgy. . . :-)

Hayley's Sneak Peek

I've been working feverishly editing images from last weekend. At last week's shoot, while Avery took a break, I shot several images of Miss Hayley. Can you see why I have baby fever?? These girls are so cute and adorable - how could I not?




I love this set of images. It's such a natural and relaxed family portrait.

Avery's Sneak Peek

Last Sunday I had the pleasure to photograph one of the most beautiful families. Heather, Chris and baby Avery are so photogenic - editing is a breeze. Here are a few from our session:

Aren't they gorgeous??

I love the tenderness in this image. I think it really shows off the awe and love they have for their new baby girl.

I love capturing the little moments. I think Avery is destined to be a ballerina - her toes are always "en pointe." :-P

This is what happens when the Daddy's decide to do a little baby kickboxing. :-P

This reminds me of expressions Michaelangelo painted on the angels in the Sistine Chapel.

Whenever I shoot babies or children, I shoot in "continous mode" which fires off 5 or 6 frames per second. When I do this I have a BUNCH of images to sort through but I love it 'cause I'll get the best expressions. Avery looks like she's a professor in an "Aha!" moment. :-P

location, location, location

location, location, location

That's one of the first lessons students learn in introductory small business classes. I think this lesson also applies to on-location portrait sessions. Location is EVERYTHING if you want your portraits to be unique, fun and truly reflect your personality. Here in Houston we have the popular spots: Hermann Park, Japanese Gardens, Rice University, Sam Houston Park, various parks in Sugarland and The Woodlands, etc. These places are so popular that sometimes I, along with my clients/friends, will be jockeying for position with other photographers and their clients. I'd like to encourage my current and future clients to not be afraid to step outside of the box and try something new.

Don't be afraid to be different!

Let's make YOUR pictures unique and unlike every other bride/groom or family in Houston!

The past few weeks, I've been thinking about new locations that step away from what everyone else does. (I've also done a bit of scouting. ;-) ) Some of these have probably been used by other photographers - but I think we can make something out of it that no one else has.

Here's the list:
+ Jillians at the Marquee Center: bowling alley, pool, video games
+ Ikea: this would have to be a mid-week session and we'll probably have to ask for permission but they have so many different settings, colors, etc.I recently found out cameras are a no-no at Ikea. :-( - even point and shoots!
+ area behind Kim Son on Jefferson St.: urban/industrial area
+ Old Town Spring
+ Jones Plaza and Alley Theatre
+ Allen's Landing
+ Buffalo Bayou Walk
+ Rice Village
+ area around 3000 Commerce: lots of wall art/graffiti
+ Brazos Bend State Park

Let's have some fun!

:-)

Hayley

I had the opportunity to shoot the beautiful Austin family this past weekend. Hayley is a wiggly four month old with great (and funny) facial expressions. Here are a few from the session:












Thank you Hayden and Lauren for inviting me into your home! You guys are a beautiful family and I'm looking forward to documenting the growth of your beautiful baby girl.