Beating the Heat...

Over the years I have been lucky to build up clients across the country which has allowed me to shoot is so many different and fun landscapes.  Coming from a family of 4 kids I didn't get to travel too much as a kid, except to see my family and as a college student I was pretty broke so to have a job where I get to see different parts of the country has been fun.

I must say traveling in summer outside the state of Arizona is a blessing!  In case you don't know it gets a little warm here and since we can't live in our pool, I am pretty happy that work takes me out of state most of the summer.  I have had the wonderful opportunity to take my kids to see lots of places when I can and my husband and I had the amazing experience of going to Italy just a few weeks ago.  I can't complain.  

Although I do miss my bed at times, here are some of the fun places I have been so far this year....

Texas

Colorado x 2 and again in August....I grew up in Colorado so it is fun to go back and mix work with a quick trip to see my cute nieces:)

Italy...need I say more, AMAZING!  

California and again at the end of this month

Las Vegas....what a blast hanging with the girls and shooting Courtney's wedding

Places I am going, shoot me an email if you are in any of these places and want to meet up....

NYC today!  Yeah I love NY!  I say more than ever because it is going to be 116 degrees this weekend, ouch!!!!   One of our former brides is meeting me out there so after my engagement shoot with Julie and Mike we are going to hang out for the holiday.  I am so lucky to have brides that continue on as friends:)

San Fran end of July...again used to live there so fun to mix work and friends.

Chicago...this is my second time this year and I still can't wrap my brain around how big it is.  I keep telling myself I am going to go see Oprah one of these days.  I for some reason get a ton of Chicago Couples getting married in AZ so shooting their engagement sessions in their home town is always a blast.

Virginia in September....this is the birthplace of Jennifer Radack so it is always special:)  What's even more fun is I get to shoot an engagement session of a very very cool gal...love you D.

Then again I have another wedding in Vegas and this time I will not be hitting the craps table for the record:)

So just in case you have been trying to get in touch....see above.  Fortunately I have Marlene who is fabulous and keeps the office end of things together.  I have a great husband who never complains and joins me when he can, love you Mike.   I have the two best kids who join me often and when they don't, meet me running at the airport with the biggest hugs a mama could ever want.

Exciting News!

Although it is a little old news by now....

We want to send a big THANK YOU to all the wonderful people who voted us Photographer of the year again for 2009!  We had the honor of receiving the award at the beautiful Arizona Bride Magazine Party last month at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch Resort.  It was great seeing a lot of our friends who we normally don't get to spend time with in a non-w0rking environment.  We love the new magazine layout and thank Kedra and all the hard working gals at the magazine:)  If you want a copy of the magazine drop by the studio or send us an email and we can get you a copy.

Happy Father's day Mike!

So my husband Mike who is the most amazing husband and father has been on my case about getting my picture taken....  As many photographers can relate, I would rather do anything than get my picture taken, ANYTHING!  I don't know why and as I have gotten older my phobia has gotten worse.  I really need therapy over the whole issue.  Well good news is for Father's day I headed out with Mandy and she snapped a few of me with the kids and I swapped off and tortured her as well:)  It was a great time and thanks Mandy for making it a little less stressful for me!

We love you Daddy:)

I shot a few of them waiting for Mandy, I don't know why they are both so obsessed with all the free newspapers in those metal stands (I swear this was not staged they are hilarious...I think we must have a dozen pictures of them reading like this)

Zach is the most protective big brother and so sweet to O.

Here it is Michael, if you hate it don't say anything or else I will never do this again:)

My handsome boy

The beautiful Olivia-Grace

I really do mean it when I say I won the husband lottery and I know I don't tell him enough how much I love him (100 times a day could never add up to be enough) so here are a few of my favorite things about Michael Allen Radack.....

1.  He makes me laugh all the time

2.  He is an incredible cook

3.  The kids worship him

4.  He is tall

5.  Intelligent

6.  Still plays tennis with me even though we suck

7.  Still plays golf with me and pretends he sucks as bad as me

8.  Leaves the sweetest voice mails

9.  He hates me being pregnant as much as I hate me being pregnant and we both have agreed we will willingly jump off a cliff if I am ever pregnant again (p.s. we love our kids more than life and there is zero chance of me ever getting pregnant...it was that bad I swear you would hate me pregnant)

10.  He never makes me clean the pool

11.  He always makes the bed

12.  He is incredibly smart

13.  He is loyal

14.  He worships the kids as much as I do

15.  He lets me drive a lexus and he drives a truck...note to any of my soon to be husbands...just let her drive the nicer car it makes things way less complicated:)

16.  Everyone likes Mike

17.  He loves me more than Gisele

18.  His dance moves

19.  He is my best friend

20.  He never makes me mow the lawn or pick up dog poop (we have a big lawn and our dog well....he is full of you know what)

21.  He is a risk taker

22.  He saves for a rainy day

23.  He keeps me grounded, but never kills the daydreamer inside of me

24.  I catch him checking me out all the time and he admits it

25.  He has 95 years left on his contract and he says he is going to stick to it:)

I love you honey...thanks for being the best daddy to the kids and husband to their mama.  Enjoy the masters today....the couch is yours!

xo

wife

I heart Italia!

This week we are in Italy!  This is a photographers dream location to shoot a wedding and I am so honored to be a part of Carl and Deanne's big day tomorrow.  We are on day three, which I guess is technically day two Phoenix time, but I am so confused on time zones I am not really positive.  Mike and I have spent the first few days enjoying the sights of Venice.  It is hard to wrap my head around the culture, sounds and all the vibrant colors.  There are so many cute street cafes and artists.  I will say that since there are no cars here lugging around suitcases via boats and not so friendly stairs, oh the stairs, has been quite the workout, but since I have been missing my boot camp in Phoenix I am positive it is Tammy's way of making sure I get my work outs in.  (I am sure she arranged our hotels to be up and down multiple bridges).  Mike and I have always wanted to be on the amazing race, but after our map reading skills have been put to the test I will say we would for sure lose!  We have had a blast though and look forward to 4 more days of getting lost in Italy.

We have had a fabulous time and leave today to go to Lido, which is an island off the Venice coast to shoot the wedding.    I will try to post pictures as I can.  To Z and OG we miss you terribly and think of you every second of the day, well at least 45 out of 60 of every minute.  We hope you are having fun with Gamma and getting lots of cuddle time.  We love you more:)

The buildings all have these shutters that I love.

I am a little too fascinated with the laundry hanging all over.

Our hotel last night was the most amazing hotel we have ever stayed at!  It is near San Marcos, it is a little pricy, but hey Italy does not happen every day so it was worth the splurge.

We went around looking at the home colors and decided if we lived here we would paint ours this red color with the bright blue shutters.

My handsome husband Mike enjoying his espresso looking over the canal at his birthday dinner. (he turns 35 tomorrow)

More laundry, I think I may frame some of these for the laundry room.

Our first hotel which we highly recommend if you want to have the be near the grand canal and do the gondola.  Very Italian, loved Giano at the bar we tried to convince him to be our tour guide, but he had to work.

A little of Arizona in Italy:)

Right after we got off the bus to Venice, which was blaring Pink Floyd the entire time....you guessed it we saw a Native American concert along the grand canal.

Our romantic gondola ride.....Ciao!

I love emails like this....

So I had kind of a roller coaster of a day....

1st email

 ...from Zachary's teacher (for those who don't know Zach has Asperger syndrome so we have had some struggles in school....)

Jennifer, I have just finished with all the scoring for Zachary's end of year writing sample (2 teachers graded it) and had to tell you how well he did!  Writing in his draft book may not always be his favorite thing to do, but he really pulled together a great story when he knew it counted.  the story is about his "special thing"...his great grandfather's typewriter.  I'll give you a copy of it.  Here are his 6 traits scores tgether with scores at the beginning of the year.  (1-5 with a5 being the very highest) He made a lot of progress this year!  It is difficult to get 4s and 5s

Beginning of year End of year

Ideas

1.5 5.0

Organiztion

1.0 4.0

Voice 

1.0 4.0

Sentence Fluency

2.0 3.5

Conventions

2.0 3.0

 

All I can say is Harvard here we come!

2nd Email (I had to bleep out some words in it)

This was actually a text from Lynda and Mike

"U gals r f+++++ rockstars!!!! These pics r amazing.  I can't thank you enough we have perfect memories now in print as well!  Smooch - Lynda

3rd Email

Mrs Radack,

Your daughter has been suspended for a day from pre-school

(this one kind of sucks...whose kid gets suspended from pre-school?????? I guess mine)  What can I say my kids go to Simis and they are a little OCD.  She has never bit a kid in her life, why she decides to do it on the 223 day of school and get suspended I don't know.  Good times!

4th Email

From Emily and Jeff 

Hi Jennifer

We just finished going through all of the pictures.  I just want you to know that we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!  They are absolutely perfect, and we could not be happier.  Thank you so much for all of your hard work.

Emily

Okay so I can't please everyone so Mrs. Dagmar today is not your day!  I am going to take it as 3 against 1 and look at the day as a success.  Thanks Mrs. Wienmiester, Emily & Jeff, and Lynda & Mike for making the day of my daughter's first school suspension not so bad.

Thank you!

2009 Bride's Choice Award

We are excited and very thankful to be in the running for the 4th year in a row for Arizona Bride's Magazine Wedding Photographer of the year for 2009!  We also recently won Wedding Wire's 2009 Brides Choice Award in the Photography Category.  Although I really am a slacker at blogging we all are very greatful to all our clients and their votes.  Love, Peace and many happy photo opps for you all this year.

xo-The girls at O Grace Photography

Kristen & Ryann

I have to admit I fail miserably when it comes to this blogging thing...for the record I am much better at Facebook if you want to keep up with me.  After much pressure I am giving it a go again, at least until I fall off the blog wagon again~

I am starting my new resolution with two of the cutest chics around...Kristen & Ryann.  I met Kristen last year when she was a bridesmaid (and sister) of Tim & Maureen Crabtree.  Ryann was barely walking and one of the cutest flower girls I have seen, even if she never did make it down the isle.  So when Kristen called me to get some new head shots I had to ask her to bring Ryann for the shoot.  We did get the head shots done, but I will admit Gretchen & I got a little carried away with Ryann as she easily stole the show.  

So if you are looking for a very cool insurance agent check her out at www.kristenkruger.com, new head shots coming soon:)  It was a blast hanging out with you girls!  I hope to see you soon.

Check out some of my favs below and the slideshow.

I'm thinking orange maybe the new black this year!

This is my favorite!

To view Kristen & Ryann's slideshow click here:)

I am alive!!!

I keep getting emails that I need to update my blog and I know I keep promising I will, but I need to be honest I have been taking a break from the fast lane.  This picture pretty much sums me up lately!  It has been a whirlwind fall and I am almost on top of getting my website (which is halfway done yeah), slideshows and albums done.  We shot 52 weddings this year!  It was beyond any goal I could have made for us and I feel incredibly blessed, I shot over 100 families took 8 trips, moved my studio and my family among other things.  I don't usually get too personal, but I know I have not been the same 100 mile personality the past few months, but there has been something very personal going on in my life.   

My precious, amazing son Zachary was diagnosed with asperger syndrome which is a form of autism this fall.  It has been a wonderful gift and an opportunity to understand him in a way that I never would have before.  It has also been a time for me to reflect on my priorities in my life.  Zach has a very mild form of autism, but if you have been affected or know anyone who has been affected by the disease you can understand the frustration a parent goes through and then the guilt you feel for being so frustrated with a child that cannot help a lot of the things they do.  

My passion for photography is stronger than ever, in fact I have learned more in the past three months than I have my entire career, but my passion for my family has grown too.  I will still shoot every chance I get and go get goofy in the park with my families and couples, but I am also going to shut the computer off a little more and spend time with my kids at night.  I have a fabulous team of people who work for me and help me edit and keep it together for me so I am not going to stress anymore about being all things to everyone in the world.

Taking a break from being superwoman (or at least trying to be) has been the best thing for my photography.  Taking long runs everyday up central avenue on the bridal path watching the leaves change, finally!, and taking a break every now and then to watch the older couples walking hand and hand has reminded me what life is all about.  

When people have found out Zach has been diagnosed with autism their first reaction is to tell me how sorry they are, but I am here to say I am not sorry.  I am thankful.  I am thankful to have a wonderful, healthy boy who reminded me and continues to remind me of what is most important in the world.  He tells me everyday as he runs off out of the car that I am the best mom in the entire universe.  That is what life is about.  

We are going to one of our favorite places next week, NASA so I am off and maybe I might take some time to finish up my website and post all our fabulous weddings we shot this fall on our blog and maybe not.  I may just decide to go to bed early and cuddle my kids or watch a couple movies.  At any rate I appreciate all my incredibly loyal and supportive clients and friends!  I appreciate all the love that has been shown to my business and to my family this year!  We are truly the lucky ones:)

until next time...xo

Brandi & Raman Party at the Royal Palms!

Okay so I have figured out the new trend....get married and party later with your friends.  That is what Brandie and Raman decided to do after getting hitched in Vegas.  It provides such a stress free environment and gave us plenty of time to have fun shooting around the always gorgeous Royal Palms Resort.  It was sadly Kristen's last wedding at the Royal Palms, but we can vouch that Jessica is doing a fabulous job stepping up to the job.

I could go on and on about how much I love this couple, but for those of you who continue to remind me....I am so behind on my blogging.  Let's just say if I could have a third sister it would probably be Brandie.  Brandie called me when I was on a shoot out of state and I thought it was my husband calling, so I picked it up on accident.  To make a long story short I missed my exit, and was very late, but we instantly connected and gabbed for I don't know how long.  Looking back I am glad I picked up the phone that day. 

 Below are a few of my favorites and here is a link to their slideshow.

Enjoy!

This was a gift from Brandie's parents.

Raman's grandfather wore these and they have been passed down.  I like how they kept the old box and it has the telephone number from India.

This is one of my favorites

I have tried to get so many couples to do this shot and nobody has nailed it like they did:)

I love the simplicity.

The always fabulous Hamptons Band got everyone on the dance floor!

Brandie told me they love to dance at the grocery store...

I guess if you need a space to practice it works.

This has got to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen at a wedding, and I have seen a lot!  This was the envelop Raman put Brandie's vows in.

Thanks Brandie & Raman for sharing your special day with us!  We wish you many decades of happiness....and dances down the frozen food isle.

Here is the link to their slideshow.

Pizzo Family

The Pizzo Family are also part of the "Folsom 7"!  I hope you all don't mind your new nickname, I only do it to the ones I love.  Out here I have the Gilbert 8 for all the gals who decided to have babies last year and are now all 1, I don't even honestly know if there is 8 or maybe more, but 8 just fits.

I honestly have never felt like such a failure as a mom as when I saw how incredibly clean Lisa keeps her kids.  Now I pride myself on keeping a pretty spick and span home, but my kids are a different story....even if I yanked them directly out of the shower and made them stay in an airtight oxygen chamber they would never look this clean.  I might also add well behaved!  It was so fun meeting you all and I look forward to seeing you next year!

You can view the Pizzo slideshow by clicking this link!

Below are a few of my favorites...

California Families!

The Fiori Family was my first family of the Folsom 7:)  They are a tight knit bunch up there and a lot of fun!  To be honest when I first thought of folsom I could not get the whole Johny Cash prison song out of my head, but was pleasantly surprised that it is a gorgeous town.  This was my second trip and this time I got to drive around a bit more and really enjoyed all the rolling hills (we don't have a ton of those here in the desert ).  I have a stack of posts to catch up on so I am not going to go on, but if you want any gossip on any of the families call Carrie Lovett (feel free to look her up) she has got the skinny on everyone....oh how she is going to love me now.

Here is the link to their slideshow and a few of my favs below!

They all love the feet pictures in Folsom for some reason....don't think they get a lot of that out there so they all asked.  This is one of my favorite feet pictures.

Thanks Tracy & Ned for sharing your gang!  I hope to see you again soon.

I'm Soooooorrrrryyyyy!

Okay so I have gotten stacks of hate mail and I have to be honest the bigger the stack gets the more unmotivated I am to blog, it is like the big massive pile of laundry that I don't want to face:)

I promise I am going to just sit down one day and blog the heck of you....those who know me well know this past month has been crazy here is just the icing on the list of craziness I have live the past 8 weeks or so.  Here are just a few of the things that have been going on....

-Trip to Denver

-2nd Trip to Denver

-Trip to Cali

-Trip to Tennessee

-School Started

-School Started

-School started

(those who know Zach that means at least 25 trips the first month to figure out the action plan for the coming year.  God love him, but I better get a big thank you one day for all the effort I put into making his school experience better)

-40+family shoots

-4 weddings

-I stopped counting engagement sessions

-Olivia had a fever for 2 of these weeks and ended up in Children's Hospital with a heart infection

6 b'day parties

-B-scouts field trip

-2 soccer teams started

-gymnastics x2

-Oh yes I knew my website was down!!!  I am re-doing it and thought it would be ready to go and no it was not and no it isn't and I don't freaking know when it will be so don't ask me!!!

-Looking to move studio

-in the process of this Mike and I decided to put our house up to see what happens...less than 24hrs not even a sign in the yard and gone baby gone like in we are homeless gone! (note to self don't do this for any reason unless you have a place to go...we could possibly be homeless in a matter of weeks if we can't find an address and a family, very nice family I will say, will be living in our beautiful home that we put up on a whim)

-In a panic my real estate license was going to expire so I freaked out and did my 24 renewal hours in one weekend

Okay this is just the beginning...I am going to a resort because my b'day and anniversary were this past week and went uncelebrated due to the insane life.  It seems like we just need to hide so please don't come find us we are hiding and will not be answering to the names Mike, Jennifer, Daddy or Mommy.  If you see us please pretend you don't we are hiding from every single person we know!

When we get back I am off to Chicago to shoot an engagement session Tuesday back on Wednesday...oh and our friends Scott and Tracy will be here from Colorado to pack for us, oh I mean vacation, don't tell them we are moving before they get here:)  It will be a crazy month of weddings and another trip to Cali at the end of the month for photos and a quick disneyland trip for Olivia's b'day.  Then Halloween!

So if I seem a little grumpy the past few weeks.....ummmmm please understand

Jen

p.s. I am sorry for the response to the Boston gal, it was a rough day:)  (she asked when I was going to blog again and I told her when they fixed the roads in Boston...anyone who has driven in Boston can understand)

So pictures are almost done from everyone who has recently shot with us or me!!!  I promise we are in process and will have everyone done here soon.

Hopefully a big margarita and a little r and r this weekend will do this gal a little good!

p.p.s.  My son Zach gave me a beautiful rock that he searched all recess for that he swears is shaped like a heart and it was by far the best gift I have ever been given...thanks Zach!

The Wings

When it comes to brother in laws I have to say I have one of the sweetest in Colin Radack.  He has got manners straight out of the book and is a fantastic uncle to my kids.  At 16 I don't know too many guys who would want to hang out and play with an 8 year old.  Zach has not stopped talking about Colin since he returned from Texas last month.  I could not order a better role model for my kids.  

Colin's baseball team was out from Austin  playing in a tournament this summer at the Royals training facilities last month.  Needless to say as much as I would have loved to sit and watch him more, my camera started to melt.  We had the kids so we had to pack it up pretty quick.  Here are a few shots from the day.  

You can click this link to view the slideshow.

Enjoy!

Colin in action...he is Mike's twin only a few decades younger.  Very cute, but since Mike is a duplicate I maybe a tad bit biased.

Shooting the guys batting was hard through the fence because I was shooting on a big lens, but thanks to a little photo shop I was able to remove the fence (the above shot was through the chain link fence)

This above is probably one of my favorites.

For those who think Baseball is not a dangerous sport watch this next series...

Picture behind the plate pretty normal.

Pitcher winding up to throw the pitch

Very very very fast pitch

Equals ouch!  His mom was sitting next to me and thought he might have broken his hand.  She was the calmest person.  I felt like I freaked out more than her...gosh I am in trouble when my kids get hurt playing sports. 

We miss you Colin!  Thanks for giving us so many reason to cheer:)  See you soon.

Jen

Churnetski Family

Rumor has it that it gets hot in Arizona in July....in fact many of my summer nights are spent up late watching Sell this House on HGTV and me yelling at the people "I'll take it!  Don't worry about the 1970's wallpaper and avocado green appliances...as long as it is not 112 I am there!"  I sit and dream of the cooler weather, Maine is usually one of my top choices in July...then I snap out of it and realize there is 9 other months of the year and they usually involve snow so I deal with the blistering heat.

Needless to say shooting outside in July can be a challenge...first off if my clients can't deal with me looking like I just stepped out of a sauna forget it!  I also can't promise that I smell all that great either:)  That did not detour the Churnestski family!

I usually try to schedule my summer shoots as early as humanly possible and I am not always sure there is going to be a carload of happy campers when the car door opens.  When I first met Christie and her gorgeous gang they were all smiles so we were off to a great start!  I kept waiting for them to complain about the heat, sweating, kids fighting...not a thing.  I kept thinking wait a second are these people for real!?  Well yes they are and Kylie and Caden are total pros.  I have to give them a world of credit for being such troopers and making my job effortless.

John and Christie are friends with one of my favorite families, the Atherton's.  Tammy sends me lots of fabulous referrals and I sincerely thank her!  She is also my unofficial canvas consultant...if you want to see a great collection go to her home she did a great job choosing a bunch from their session last winter.  They live down in Ocotillio, just look them up and take a peek, just don't tell her I sent you as she may not want everyone showing up at her house as they could be having dinner.  Trust me they look great!  Thanks to Christie, John Kylie and Caden for sharing your morning with me.  I look forward to seeing you all real soon.  

Below are a few of my favorites.  

Click on this link to view the Churnetski slideshow.

Kylie has the cutest laugh:)

These are a couple of beau-ti-ful kids!

The truck was flaming hot, but they did not say a word and delt with the burning for the photo!

This is one of my favs

Hugs and love to you all!

Another Surprise!

I keep looking at the calender thinking this week must be my birthday, but as far as I can tell it is July and not October...I got another thank you gift this week!  I am not complaining especially since this one was food,  but it is a little overwhelming!  I got a great edible fruit bouquet today from Lani, part of the Davis family I blogged about on the last post.  I told you she was fabulous.  If you ever want a fun and unique gift for someone skip the flowers, these are delicious and fun.  Thanks Lani and Jay!  Here are a few pics before we dove into it.  Yummy:)

Olivia was so excited...anyone who knows my kids know they LOVE fruit!

Thanks!  I love you all!

Davis Family

I met Lani 12 years ago when I was looking for a roomate mid-semester in college because mine decided to move back home...those of you who have ever looked for a roomate mid semester before it is not fun at all. Let's see I had every wack-o in the entire state. I had the girl who wanted to teach flute lessons in my living room, the 40 year old man (I was 21 at the time so not a good fit), then it only got worse from there.... I was never a big roomate person mainly because I am a little OCD about how my house is kept, I was probably the only college student with all white furniture and never left my apartment without making my bed. So to be honest when Lani walked in the door I thought she looks normal and I can't deal with interviewing anyone else. So I figured worst case scenario I will live with her for six months and at least I have my own bathroom so I will survive. Needless to say she has never gone away, thankfully. She became one of my dearest friends and is someone I could never imagine living life without. She has always taken care of me in a way, she is older than me even though she probably still gets carded everywhere. When she first moved in she thought I had an eating disorder because I only had diet coke and ketchup in the fridge....hey I worked at restaurant and went to school full time who needed to cook! So there was Lani pulling out the crock pot making sure I had a healthy diet...I swear I didn't ever even go to the grocery store before I met her as sad as it sounds. I was lucky that school came really easy to me and so I spent my time biking and going to happy hour. She was the serious one with the sales job, a designer wardrobe and actually went to the study groups on Friday nights. I know it would drive her crazy that I would come in and out at all hours and somehow, still to this day don't know how, would pull an A in a class (I think having kids made my brain shrink, but Lani can tell you I was smart at one time). I went into sports radio after college and then moved like a gypsy around the country. She stayed put married her college boyfriend, Jay and went into pharmaceutical sales. I was always the one jumping off the cliff and she was the one standing at the bottom with the towels. We probably could not be any less alike, which is probably why we have always had such a good friendship. It does not matter how long we go without seeing each other, I know I can walk in her house and plop on the couch and be right at home picking up in a conversation mid-sentence and she will totally follow me. (She has way better manners than I do of course, but she accepts me the way I am and never says a word...but I do occasionally see the eye roll, but she never says anything because she knows it is who I am and she loves me). She has gone through a lot of different stages of life with me and has been a constant source of support. I had a blast shooting her family...yes her family was part of this shoot as well and they are great too! I just wanted to take a sec and thank Lani for being such a loyal and loving friend....I will always cherish your friendship! (Lani is the one in the light blue shirt)

You can view the slideshow at the bottom of this post. The shoot consisted of her parents, who have also loved me through some pretty wild stages of my life, that I hope they keep secret, and her brother's family. Here are a few of my favorites from the shoot.

Enjoy!

Those who shoot with me know I am not a great portrait person, but this is as good as it gets with 4 small kids:) I seriously don't know what the people do who have a lot of kids to get them all behave in pictures. Any ideas would be greatly appreciate...I have already tried bribing.

Sevrin hamming it up!~

I think this is such a fun twist on a family picture when the little ones will not sit still!

So cute...save this for when they are beating each other up.

Morgan is a lot like me...hummm how would people describe me...bossy maybe:)

Sevrin could not look anymore like Jay...so cute, Sevrin that is, don't get any ideas Jay.

Ed and Sue are such great grandparents! If they are ever in the market to adopt a few more I am always available:)

You can view the Davis family slideshow by clicking this link! Enjoy!

Kiel Family

Some of you may know Cherise by name or email because she does my album design and is my editor extrodinare:) Now you can put a face and family with the name. Her husband Barry is in the Army and she wanted to get some family pictures taken before he left, that is about what it takes for me to shoot outside in July in Arizona! I cannot imagine how hard it is to be away from his family and the amount of energy it takes for Cherise to take care of the kids and me, which is like having an additional two kids or possibly three. I am extremely thankful for all she does for me and how she has given me so many hours back to spend with my own family. I am thankful to Barry and all those who take time away from their friends and family to serve our country as it is a true sacrifice.

I have gotten to know Tyler and Emma over time and they are so well behaved and beyond cute. Tyler is always full of questions and the way he takes care of Emma reminds me so much of Zachary and Olivia's relationship. After shooting I don't know how many hundreds of kids I can honestly say it is rare that siblings sincerely get along so well, these two do. I hope the slideshow is something Barry can watch when he is away and remember what a

fabulous family he has:)

A big thank you to Cherise for being such a gem in my business and sharing your wonderful family with me.

The link to the slideshow is at the bottom of this post. Here are a few of my favs. Enjoy!

Emma is so sweet. Love the red hair!

If this does not make a frame then I have completely missed the mark. This was all Tyler and one of the sweetest moments I have seen between a brother and sister. I hope Emma takes this one with her to college. It is by far one of my favorite pictures ever.

I brought some old chairs that are part of my daughter's tea party ensomble...these are a great idea if you are shooting at the farm on my family shoot day because it gives you some options. To those who remember, I brought in a lepord print chase lounge chair last year and shot Olivia on it and it was adorable. Just a thought to keep your eyes on the look out at the fabulous junk shops that are around town, Sage on McDowell and Lizbeth's treasures on 16th St in Phoenix are two of my favorites. I always say the older the better!

People often ask what they should wear and trust me I stress about it too for my own family...Cherise did a great job picking very plain, classic clothing. You cannot really tell what year these are taken due to clothing choices as they are all dressed very classic.

Bubbles are a great option for little kids when they start to come apart in a shoot, just make sure they come out at the end of the shoot or else you will never get them away...little hint:)

I will say Barry, like most men, was not so keen on the go laugh and dance with your wife cenerio that I set up....but he sucked it up due to the heat causing a lack of oxygen to his head and they turned out great.

This is one of my favorites of the two of them.

You can view the Kiel's slideshow by clicking this link!

Feel free to leave any comments by clicking the comment link.

Kelly & Matt's bump watch!

I walked into the studio last week and had one of those yellow slips that I had a package at the post office and figured it must be an album and once I got it realized it was a fabulous box from Kelly and Matt! What a surprise! Kelly wrote such a sweet note, notes like this make me love my job even more, so I thought I would share a bit of it...she is a law student so I cut it down a little, you thought I was long winded....

'Dear Jennifer,

Thank you! Thank you! Doing the photo shoot with you last week was a true highlight of the pregnancy experience (especially when you told me my legs looked great). Seriously, the luxury of having a true artist who is clearly in her element directing and shooting people in a fun, casual way was such a blessing.

Thank you immensely and with huge hugs! Enclosed are a few of my "favs" for girly treats. Enjoy. I hope to see you next time you are in town.

Smiles,

Kelly'

Okay so I love you too, but you give me way too much credit! Thanks for being you and being thoughtful and for having great legs....

Here is Kelly and Matt's story as told by me....

When I first met Kelly and Matt at an event I was shooting last year we instantly clicked. Kelly went to law school with my sister and is almost as sassy as we are...I say almost because I think it is near impossible when you put Jessica & I together! My sister is known for giving the coolest gifts, I can attest to that, so for Kelly's baby gift my sister purchased a maternity session for Kelly and Matt. I knew Kelly would not want the traditional black background tummy shots so we opted for something different and headed out to 6th Ave in Denver which is dotted with cute little shops and brightly colored walls. It is one of my favorite streets in Denver and I was so happy they were game to do their shoot there.

There is only a few weeks left of cooking for this little one and I am sure you will see the babe pop up in a shoot here on the blog soon!

Congrats Kelly & Matt! Best wishes with the little one. Thanks for a fun morning. See you all soon. Here are a few of my favorites. You can view Kelly and Matt's slideshow by clicking on the link at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Love the trees in Colorado...we don't get neighborhood sidewalks like these in the desert!

Shooting at a coffee shop that was formerly a gas station would be a hard sell to most...not to Kelly & Matt they were up for anything and we had fun doing it!

Nothing like being barefoot and pregnant!

This keep out sign baffled me...it was on a brick wall on a building no where near a door...where exactly do they want you to keep out? We decided to work with it.

I had a summer pregnancy with Zachary and I vividly remember standing in front of the fan looking to the heavens begging God to send some cold weather!

You can view Kelly & Matt's slideshow by clicking this link!

Feel free to leave any comments for them by clicking the comment link.

Smith Family

I was so fortunate to meet the newest member of the Smith family when I was in Denver....Jordan! She definitely stole the shoot and will steal the slideshow as you can see. Sean and Tracy adopted Jordan from China this year and all I can say is she has obviously has the hearts of the entire family. My youngest sister Jessica works in the same building as Tracy and they have become friends. I remember Jessica telling me about Jordan when Tracy and Sean adopted her and how Tracy seemed so genuinely happy and how absolutely adorable Jordan was. I didn't even connect the two because Tracy hired me over email and we never spoke before the shoot, then the day before the shoot Jessica reminded me she was the same Tracy she had told me about earlier. One of my best friends and college roomate Lani was adopted and it opened my eyes to how wonderful the gift of adoption is to the birth parents, the adoptive parents and especially the child. Tracy has even been learning Chinese, which I have heard is extremely difficult, to carry on with Jordan's heritage, which I think is so cool of her to take the time to learn.

Her entourage of cousins, uncle and grandma all came along and joined in the shoot which was so much fun. We were fighting with a late afternoon shower, but we got their shoot in just in time. I think it is safe to say Jordan won the jackpot when it comes to families and of all the little girls they could have adopted the Smith's got the perfect little one for them.

Thanks to the Smith family for sharing your day with me! I look forward to seeing you all real soon. Below are a few of my favorites. The link to the slideshow is at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy!

To view the Smith Family Slideshow click on this link!

Feel free to leave any comments about their pictures by clicking the comment link on this post.

Vacation Bible School

I am always game to do something different so when Lori Wiemers contacted me about shooting VBS for Gilbert United Methodist Church I didn't have to think twice. Everyone there was so welcoming and they really do have a good children's program there for anyone who might be looking for a church home in the east valley. The kids were fabulous and it was so neat to see them bring in their own money to donate to mission work to help other less fortunate kids.

After a day of arts & crafts, singing, science, story time, dancing and of course a great snack I was beat. I give a lot of credit to all who have the energy to work the entire week, I only lasted a day. I am sure the performance at Sunday's service will be a lot of fun.

To all the kids in Gilbert starting school this week, enjoy the new box of crayons....see you all soon! Thanks to everyone for letting me join in on the fun!

Here are a few of my favorites....you can view the slideshow by clicking the link at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

Lori did a great job with the decorations.

Lots and lots of dance practice for the big show.

Even as an adult I have to admit I love these... I have never made them for fear I would eat the whole pan! Back when you could not buy them in the store I would beg my mom to make them.

She prefers oreos....

Can you tell by the following kids what the color of the day was?

Could it be one of my favorites...orange?!

THe teachers were all full of such great engergy.

My favorite was the science lab...I even learned something new!

Pastor Dan is a great guy and loves the kids!

Thanks to everyone for such a fun day!

You can view the VBS Slideshow by clicking on this link!

Kelly & Rick at The Royal Palms!

When Courtney from the Royal Palms called and told me she just referred this bride Kelly to us and she thought we would love her...little did she know how much we would love her, her family, her friends....and well her handsome new husband! This group was fun, fun fun! Kelly met Rick while visiting family back in Oklahoma when she was out with some friends one night. They exchanged numbers and she never called and they ran into each other again and well the rest is history! They have since kept up a long distance romance her in Arizona helping her cuter than cute Dad run their family business, Gallagher Pools. She is now off to Oklahoma where Rick and her have just built a new home and he works as an attorney. Everyone was so fun to work with and as you can see there were very few serious moments...lots of laughs and humor is always a bonus when shooting a wedding outdoors in the summer in Arizona as it is very hot.

Here are a few of my favorites. You can view the slideshow by clicking the link at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!

I love this shot because it is so real and capturing the moments getting ready...plus I caught my competition red handed with her camera!

The gals were so fun

It's a little cliche...but here is a little AZ to take back to OK

Kelly and Rick saw each other before the ceremony which gave us tons of time to have fun!

Courtney has been begging for this and thanks to Cherise's mad photoshop skills the telephone wires & poles that normally drape accross the background are gone:)

Kelly's parents...love it when you still hold hands after all the years.

Kelly has the best laugh...my face hurt because it is impossible to be around her and not smile, she is by far one of the happiest people I have met.

The Mr & Mrs

Best Friends:)

The wild and crazy wedding party

Thanks Kelly & Rick for letting us be part of your special day! Best to you both in Oklahoma...

View Rick & Kelly's Slideshow by clicking this link!

My "New Best Friend"

I seriously debated posting this session because there is a high probability you will want to kidnap my niece Cate. I had such a great time hanging out with her and she kept referring to me not as Aunt Jennifer or FerFer as I have been called for years, but as 'new best friend FerFer'....I guess it is better than her old best friend or her third best friend. When Jessica hired me to shoot her ballet class I was so excited, not as much for the class, but I knew I could squeeze in my dream of shooting a little girl in a tutu in a back alley. I got the short end of the girl stick when it comes to these things because Olivia would rather walk naked than touch a tutu so thank goodness for my girly girl Cate:) At the time of this shoot Olivia was jumping off 15 ft cliffs into Lake Travis in Austin begging to do it again, she is only 4 and trust me I was not the one letting her jump off cliffs! I guess my dreams of her as the ballerina are all but gone:( ....considering I was the sister out of three of us who lived the better part of my childhood wearing a tutu every single day it is a shock that this would ever be an option for my daughter. Thankfully I can live through Cate and watch her jumping around the studio in class. It was so much fun to spend such good quality time with her. She is at such a great age and I can't wait to hang out with her again real soon.
Thanks Cate for being so sweet and loving me unconditionally. Thanks Rob and Jessica for giving me such a beatiful niece whom I obviously worship! Thanks to Cherry Creek Dance for letting me go behind the "glass wall", I don't think I was suppose to do it. I may have caused a little issue with others wanting to do it now, but heck it was for my Cate!
Love and hugs to you best friend:)
You can view her slideshow by clicking this link!

I like how her name is written on the bottm of her shoes.

They do get itchy sometimes.

She is really "advanced" for her age...at least my sister told me so and I agree, look at that girl checking her out!

You can view Cate's slideshow by clicking here!

Nanny of the Year!

When it comes to nannys I must say my nieces Cate and Carolyn have the best in Kelly! I spent a little over a week in Denver shooting and hanging out with my nieces and seriously could not believe my eyes with the gem my sister has in Kelly. She not only is shuttling the girls around to museums, swimming lessons, dance classes, the aquarium, but she also does all their laundry all probably while singing a happy song! I seriously got shorted!

Unfortunately for the girls Kelly is going back to teaching Kindergarten this fall so our family will lose her. My sister was going through interviewing nannys and would excuse herself to the bathroom to call Kelly and tell her about all the wack-0 people that wanted the job ....only Jessica would do something like that! Anyone who has ever looked for decent childcare will tell you how valuable a good one can be. They were offering trips to Hawaii and salaries so good I was tempted to quit and go be the nanny (then I realized I would have my two kids too and 4 kids might put me in jail). So not because of a lack of effort on Jessica & Rob's part, Kelly will be leaving our family, but will hopefully come back to visit often! I am excited that she will be making 25 little 5 year olds very happy this fall.

During all the craziness of juggling my sister, which is a chore, Kelly and her boyfriend Steve scheduled a shoot with me. It was an almost engagement shoot...heck I don't know what to call it, but they are not engaged, but if they do get engaged I have dibs on them because they are so dang cute! We headed out downtown and did some very "unKelly" like behavior like trespassing at Union Station. It was a great time and fun to shoot in normal temperatures. Afterwards we caught up with some great Mexican food and well we missed the fireworks for the most part, but it was fun!

Here are a few of my favorites. You can view their slideshow at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

I like how they have kept a lot of the old painting on the brick in Denver.

I was going to photo shop out the crane, but I like how it makes this one look more urban. You can't beat a Colorado blue sky:)

Everyone who skis knows about the famous ski train.

I love how skinny I look in my shadow.

I love this one, but don't get any hints Steve!

Thanks for being so fun! I hope to see you all again soon, with a ring...hint!

You can view Kelly & Steve's slideshow by clicking on this link-

Baby Sophia

Scott & Kristi Gessler are good friends of my sister Jessica & her husband Rob. I met them briefly at an event I shot last year and was excited when Kristi emailed me a few months ago to set up a family session when I was in Colorado. Scott works jointly with my youngest sister Jessica on a lot of political/legal stuff that is way too complicated for me to wrap my brain around. I feel pretty intelligent most of the time and then you put these two in a room and it is back of the class for me! Thankfully they kept me around long enough to meet Kristi and Scott's newest addition Sophia.

It was a step back in time when I first drove up to their home. I used to ride my bike past it almost everyday when I was in my early twenties trying to do the city/urban thing in Denver. It is such a gorgeous place with so much history and I loved shooting in their home.

Little Sophia is such a gorgeous baby and has two people that obviously adore her. Her blue eyes and black hair are quite a change from the white haired children in my family. She was so well behaved and kept falling asleep even through the flooding of the kitchen, okay so it was my idea to do the bath in the kitchen....the lighting was perfect, but not my fault the plug was not in the bath so I can only take half credit for any damage done. I never could figure out all those baby things and I ended up just putting them in the bottom of the shower in one of those plastic chairs (I am sure pelting water on their faces since birth is the reason for many of my kid's issues now, but heck they are not afraid of water so something good came out of it).

One of my favorite moments was watching Scott play the piano with Sophia on his lap. She was mesmerized by his fingers and kept putting her feet on the bottom of the piano. I am sure this is the start of a piano prodigy!

Thanks Kristi and Scott for letting me join your life for an afternoon! I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

You can view the Gessler's slideshow by clicking on the link at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy:)

I have some major hair envy...Kristi has got hair to die for!

Sophia kept falling asleep and would not put her feet up, but we tried.

Love how she stayed asleep even after being carried around.

She did wake up every now and then....

This is one of my favorites of Scott.

The start of great things...

To view the Gessler's slideshow click on this link~

Drew Senior portraits

I met Drew's mom Lori through Tammy Atherton who has unofficially become part of my sales staff along with Taryn and Delia:) Between the three of them I could shoot thousands of families a year! I am fortunate that I always get really cool referrals from them and Drew Wiemer is no exception!

Drew's mom purchased our year in the life family plan and I get to go experience Drew's senior year with him which is going to be so fun. This time I don't have to worry about a date for prom or if I am going to make the varsity cheer squad which is such a relief. I may need to go out and purchase some hipper clothes and get the lingo down a little better, but I am excited. We are going to break the shoots up to combine some different family events so it will be great to get to know the entire Wiemers family.

Drew is going into his senior year at Gilbert High School and is busy working at a camp for disabled kids this summer which really goes to show what a good guy he is. He keeps busy on the football team and races bikes (I was thinking BMX, he rolled out in the real deal). He also welcomed a little girl this past year Grace, I have to say love the name. She was so curious and cute as can be. I have to give Drew a lot of credit for taking such an active role with Grace at his age, he has a maturity that most guys his age don't have. We included her in the shoot too, but her patience was a little limited as it was hot and she really just wanted to run away from us most of the time. You can tell their entire family just loves her to pieces, especially Lori. Drew is an all around great guy and I am sure he will do great things!

Here are a few of my favorites. You can view his slideshow by clicking the link at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy!

There is actually a chain link fence in front of this wall...thankfully Charise, my editing wizard was able to remove it with photoshop! Don't get any ideas...we were very lucky the picture was far enough way that we could lose a little detail without it being too obvious. She does a fabulous job! The picture below is with the fence...she is genious!

I am pretty sure Lori was not thrilled about the Bermuda shorts, but I think it is cool that Drew threw in a bit of his own style.

The color of the sunset was perfect.

This is how my hair looks on most days...

One of my favorites...

I love how she is holding his finger.

Planning her escape route....

Thank Drew and Grace for sharing your afternoon with me! I look forward to seeing you soon. You can view Drew's slideshow by clicking on this link!

Baby Lily

I met Tom and Jessica a few years back when they hired us to shoot their wedding. I still get lots of comments about their fun session at the fire station, they started a trend as I seem to attract all the fire fighters in town now:) So when they called to have me shoot their littlest addition Lily I could not refuse. It was so great to spend the afternoon and catch up with them. Lily is a gorgeous baby and so well behaved. I do send out a congrats to Jess because not only is she a new mom, but is also getting her PHD from ASU in a few weeks! Unfortunately for us in Arizona, this means Arizona will lose a very cool firefighter and his sassy wife. It looks like her brains are needed elsewhere in the country and there are a couple grandparents who are wanting to get on the babysitting rotation. As sad as it is to see them go, I am so happy for all they have accomplished and feel blessed to have worked with them. Here are a few of my favorites. The link for the slideshow is at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Oh the days of bathing in the kitchen sink....

I love how Lily is looking at them.


Enjoy the rolls Lily while they are still cute:)

Had to throw in one with the the fire hydrant, only Tom would have one in his living room!

Thanks Jess and Tom for sharing your cutest family member:) Best of life to all three of you in your new adventure...just don't forget us back here in Arizona.
You can view their slideshow by clicking this link!

Williams Family

Debbie and Carey Williams have got to be some of the coolest parents around (and best looking I might add)! We squeezed in their family session right before they were hoping a plane to Hawaii, yes Hawaii with their 4 kids...I don't know where I went wrong in my childhood, but that was not part of any of my family vacations. I tried to offer my services as the nanny, but they already had that covered, so I will have to settle for a lot of great stories and fun pictures when I see them next time. They have hired us to shoot an anniversary party at their home in September put on by the fabulous event planner Karen Doan. I have only heard bits and pieces of what is to come, but it sounds like it will be quite a fun party and we are so excited to be part of it. We are going to be using the pictures from this shoot for their family album. This is a great way to display your family photos and makes a great gift for the hard to shop for family members. Below are a few of my favorites and the link to the slideshow is at the bottom of the post.

Enjoy!

I like that they are all looking in different directions.

The fact that this shot is still possible after having 4 kids says a lot about Debbie...good for her!

I am one of 4 kids and I will tell you...we were never this well behaved:)

I was working so hard to get her to be natural and Carey came behind me and made a smart comment and ended up giving me one of my favorite pictures. I love that her hair is in her face and she is really laughing.

I hate to admit it, but I love bowling with the family. I do hate bowling alleys so the outside game works perfect! I don't think this is actual bowling, but it is close enough.

This cracks me up...you can always tell parents with a first child because they wrap them in bubble wrap...by the second you are too tired and by the fourth apparently you just strap them to your belt loop and let them enjoy the ride.

You can tell just by hanging out with them that they really genuinely enjoy being together.

Debbie and her boys.

This is one of my favorites of Debbie & Carey

Thanks Debbie & Carey for sharing your family with me. I look forward to working with you soon! You can view the Williams slideshow by clicking on this link!

Family Shoot Update!

Just an FYI...Boojum Tree is full and The Farm only has one spot left:) If you want to book your family holiday session I only have 4 spots left in Phoenix and 3 spots left for beach sessions in Santa Monica in Ocotber so email me to reserve a spot for your family so you don't get left out.
Jennifer

I am off for a few days...

Here is a picture I took of my niece Cate yesterday....I think she was telling me I need to slow down and take a break....

Just an FYI I am out in Colorado until later this week.  It was a planned trip to shoot a wedding this past weekend and my summer family sessions out here.  Unfortunately one of my good friends passed suddenly on Wednesday.  To make my week a little more gloomy my sister Jessica was  in a pretty bad car accident with her family and my sweet nieces last week....this could have very easily had tragic results.  Fortunately my brother in law and nieces walked away and my sister is fine with the exception of a neck injury.  

I have extended my trip for a few extra days to attend the service and spend time with my friends, family and take a few extra trips to the park and cuddle with Cate and Carolyn.   This for sure will put me behind the 8 ball more than I already am, but I need to appreciate the wonderful people in my life a little more.

 Sometimes life stops me in my tracks to remind me I need to slow down and remember who is in control.  I am taking the next few days off completely.... so I will not be returning emails or phone calls until I am back in Arizona later this week.  

Thanks for understanding,

Jennifer

Carrie & Nick Engagement!

Carrie and Nick are getting married this fall at the beautiful

St. Mary's Basilica and having their reception at the exclusive Arizona Club overlooking downtown Phoenix. I met up with Carrie and Nick a little while ago to shoot their engagment photos in old town Scottsdale and although it was sweltering hot, we had a fun time and lots of laughs. They met at work a few years ago and have been inseperable since. It was good to meet Carrie's mom she was so fun and I was glad she came along. Carrie was a real high heel professional, it amazes me what some gals can do in heels! Here are a few of my favorites. The link for their slideshow is at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy!

I love Nick's dimple

They have really good chemistry in pictures...which is not always easy to have even if a couple is head over heels in love.

Carrie has the best laugh:)

I am not kidding when I said HEELS!
Thanks Carrie and Nick for a fun time! We look forward to working with you this fall!

You can view Carrie and Nick's slideshow by clicking on this link.