Picture A Day - Oct 23, 2010

So I wanted to experiment a little this morning....something different....which is why I LOVE being mostly caught up on my editing because I don't have to feel guilty about taking some time to work on some personal items just for fun.

This is another image I took on my Santa Monica, CA. Glow Fest excursion (although I didn't really take many pics of the actual Glow Fest even though that was my intention...I just couldn't do much without having a tripod with me)...

But I'm having a hard time coming up with a creative name for this piece....any ideas?????

UPDATE: Thanks to reader, "Warren Baldwin" who suggested this fabulous name - this photo is now called "Rotation".  Thanks Warren!

It's also available for sale in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AveryJamesPhoto?ref=top_trail

Picture A Day - Oct 20, 2010 (and business update)

uhmm...maybe I should title this "Picture a Week...maybe a Month" instead...??  The last week or so I've been rotating the projects I'm working on since there's so many, and the Picture a Day just didn't happen in that time....even though I had a great picture to share!  Oh well...I'll do what I can with posting and we'll see how it turns out. :) :)

I've also been making a LOT of changes in my business...I'll do a more official post about it later, but just a couple things here:

1. I will no longer be shooting any more events, including weddings... (gasp!)...I know...'what is this girl thinking??'...Well, there's a long list of reasons for it, but the bottom line is - I just don't want to.  I don't enjoy it, and I don't want to grow to hate my business...so I need to focus on things that I do enjoy...even if it means a big pay cut :(

2. I will also no longer be doing any fundraiser mini-sessions (another gasp!)...again, a big income-generator for me, but I just don't enjoy doing it...it doesn't mesh with my photography style and is very stressful and time consuming.

And those are the main two changes for now...I'll be having some pricing changes and process changes coming very soon as well (so book your session now if you want to get in at the current rates!!!)...forthcoming soon.

I also spent all morning rebuilding my e-mail subscription database...I lost everything when I transitioned to my new Mac awhile back and just haven't had time to redo it til now...but I'm POSITIVE that I've left some subscribers off the new list, I just didn't have all of the old names that I did on my old list...I'll be sending out an email update soon and will post something here, so if you don't get it, then you're not on my list....if you'd like to be, just let me know! :)

OK - so on to my picture for the day...I was going through some old pictures yesterday and came across a set of pics that I forgot I even took...it was from almost two years ago when I took my son to the beach and there were a bunch of sailboats just out cruising around.  A beautiful sight.  I happened to have brought my camera with me and took the opportunity to snap some pics...below is the final product of one of them....

I also decided to put this print up for sale on my Etsy shop in case anyone is interested! :)

Etsy: Blue Marbles - $25.00 8x10 (larger sizes available)

Jen and Family - Boston Session

Of course...as soon as I blog about starting back up my Picture a Day project, I go and put absolutely no new posts up for a week and a half.....so typical of me. Sorry...life got in the way for awhile, as well as a bunch of new projects I got excited about that distracted me...I'll blog about those soon too. :) I've just been so excited because I'm pretty much caught up on editing now...I've got some in the queue still, but they're not months late like the rest have been...so I'm caught up in my eyes! :) :) So since I'm caught up, I've taken this opportunity to start working on some other things that I've been wanting to do....AJP is branching out! :)

 

So, more to come on all of that stuff later...for now, here's some more pics that I haven't blogged about yet. This is another one of the Boston area families that I took photos of. This is actually Summer's brother and sister-in-law and their adorable little girl. You may recognize them from the group pics towards the end of Summer's session post.

 

This beautiful little lady has got some GORGEOUS baby blues...they remind me of my little angel, Avery's, eyes. Like blue marbles.... :)

 

Enjoy the pics! :)

 

 

Jump! Picture A Day Restart - Oct 17, 2010

I've been doing so good lately with my blog posting, trying to do at least one photo-related post a day....I figured that I would take this opportunity to try and get back on track with my Picture A Day project I started months ago that I kept up for about a week (not surprising at all)....

With that said, below is another photo of my little one, taken back in March 2010....I was working on my action photography....not so great then, but as of about 2 weeks ago I actually finally mastered it I think....OK, "mastered" is really not the right word to use, but I think I got the hang of it now.

Since I've started doing my photography full-time (left my day-job a little over a month ago), I've had so much more time to actually learn things!!  I finally figured out how to REALLY use my flash the other day...still much more to learn, but I got the jist of it outside of the Auto mode.  I'm learning a lot more about post-processing my images, I finally updated my website portfolio which I haven't done in about a year!  (See here: Avery James Photography Portfolio), I've had a little more time to put some thought into my marketing and design materials (although I haven't actually done anything yet), and most importantly - I've had much more time to spend with my son....which was ALWAYS the end goal in this whole career choice from Day 1.  I've got a long ways to go in my journey, but I can say with confidence that I'm on the right path.  :)

Happy Thursday everyone :)

Child Styles - Dream Spun

For those who know my obsessions, you know that I couldn't do this blog feature without showcasing some adorable tutus and pettiskirts sooner or later!!  I'm sure there will be more in the future, but for now I wanted to share some pettiskirts from Dream Spun!

Check out this gorgeous turquoise pettiskirt....how beautiful is this color?  I picture this on an adorable little girl in a great beach setting...perfect!

Sweetheart Pettiskirt by Dreamspun - Carribean Turquoise Blue Green - $65.00

And check out this gorgeous pettiskirt dress!!  The colors are amazing!!

Whirly Girl Pinafore Dress with Pettiskirt - First Formals Collection By Dreamspun - $115.00

And one more (although I could keep posting everything in her shop as it's all so wonderful!!)....this would be great for the So Cal parents whose daughters love to dress up when they go to Disneyland!!

Tiana Princess Pettiskirt Halloween Costume by Dreamspun - $110.00

Be sure to check out the rest of her shop....she has some adorable baby items, shirts, and more pettiskirts....soooo adorable! :) :)

NOTE: Photos in this post are not associated with Avery James Photography

Advertisers: Contact me at crystal@averyjamesphotography.com for details if you're interested in one of the following options:

- Featuring your shop here (with handpicked items chosen by me)
- Advertising space
- Giveaways
- Discounts for my readers
- Professional photographs of your items

Headshots for Caydan

I realized that I never posted these pics to my blog, and I don't think I even put them on my Facebook fan page yet either....

A couple weeks ago I took some headshots of my adorable little boy...I told him that if he wanted to model for magazines and stuff, he'd make money and he could buy some toys....he was sold from that point on, which really helped me to be able to get some great expressions from him when I took the pics! :)

So here are the final images we came out with that I put on his comp card...now I just need to get my butt in gear and print them so I can send them out!! :)

Child Styles - Dimples & Dandelions

Back today with another Child Styles feature!

And a quick tip for any sellers out there - as I was browsing through online shops, Etsy especially, I found myself skipping right over any items without actual children modeling them....it's just too hard to see how the clothes actually fit on a living, moving person otherwise...I also found myself drawn to the items with pro or semi-pro photos, the clothes just look better!  But honestly, any snapshot is better than none.

So today's feature I decided to stray from Etsy because I just wasn't seeing anything that caught my eye after browsing for awhile....so I resorted to the web for some other children's boutiques....and I came across this one!

Dimples and Dandelions

There were several very cute pieces in this shop...lots of dressier, formal wear....great for holiday photos or parties.

This piece in particular caught my eye and I had to share!

Black Leopard and Rose Trench Coat with Matching Beret - $120.00

Also, couldn't resist pointing out these two gorgeous pieces as well:

Silver Satin Ruffle Dress and Legging Set - $83.00

Time to Shine Taffeta Dress with Matching Velvet Jacket - $136.00

NOTE: Photos in this post are not associated with Avery James Photography

Advertisers: Contact me at crystal@averyjamesphotography.com for details if you're interested in one of the following options:

- Featuring your shop here (with handpicked items chosen by me)
- Advertising space
- Giveaways
- Discounts for my readers
- Professional photographs of your items

Rebecca and Family

You ever stop to think about how some of us get so wrapped up in what we DON'T have, that we forget what we DO have?  And that there are a LOT of people and families out there who have it a lot worse than ourselves...?  No matter where you are in your life, what your status is, what hardships you've experienced...there's likely at least one other person who has had it worse off than you....perhaps just in a different way. 

Sometimes I feel like I need to remind myself of that....when I start worrying about all the negative possibilities, I need to tell myself that even most of my worst-case scenarios, aren't that bad....it could always be worse....

I just wanted to share that piece of wisdom with you all today as it applies to some things going on around me right now that I need to involve myself in, and it was just on my mind....

Now - back to the pictures....below is a great family I met up with a few months back...this little boy was so cute and had me getting my morning workout for sure.  I chased him all over the grass and up and down the play structure at the park.  Probably good for me because my daily exercise allotment is holding at a steady - zero.....i seem to always find an excuse to not get my exercise...does walking around at Disneyland once a week count???  I think so!  :)

Enjoy the pics, be back tomorrow with more posts! :)