Portrait of a Confidence Photography Workshop Student PART 3 {McKinney, TX - Me Ra Koh Confidence Teacher}

WOW! I have so loved witnessing the journey and transformation of imagery by a recent Confidence Student, Jennifer, whom attended my Workshop only a few short weeks ago. To see where she is today and knowing that she has the tools to take it even further makes me so excited for her AND for her kids!  The gift she is giving them of their childhood memories through storytelling imagery melts my heart!  I asked Jen to write her story in her own words.  She not only did that but she also is sharing the images that show how she has changed her Photography of her kids from the time she spent with me Growing her Confidence with her camera!  If you missed PART 1 or PART 2 of the May Workshop that Jen attended go back and check those out too! Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy Jen's story here:

Have you ever looked up to see your children playing in the most amazing light, grabbed your expensive camera and started clicking away? 

Who hasn't done that? 

Excitedly, you open up the photos on your computer and realize you didn't capture the beauty of the moment in the least bit.

I have an artistic and creative spirit...always have. I taught myself how to sew because I could never find exactly what I wanted at a price that I wanted to pay. I also taught myself how to design in Adobe Creative Suite. I am great with Photoshop. I can put people in places they've never been and delete people from moments they don't belong! I can design an ad or flier any day. But I couldn't, to save my life, capture the best moments of my journey as a parent or the simplicity of life with my camera.

Of course, I had accidental amazing pictures. Who wouldn't have one great picture out of 500 attempts? All I wanted was to capture the sun, the smiles and the thought of joy on my camera. I always seemed to get "in between" the awesome moments. You know the ones....the moment with one eye closed or the sun glaring right on a face. I just wanted to capture what my eye saw on my camera.

Well, who would have thought!? I just needed to take the darn thing off auto, turn my flash off and learn a few simple techniques. The creativity is in the eye. The capturing is in the skill! Oh boy, what I have done with just a few hours worth of knowledge!

Jill Ann, with Photography by Jill Ann, came into our lives at an incredible time. My family of three was soon to become a family of four. She captured our family of three plus a belly in the perfect way. In a way that didn't make me look fat or sick. In a way that I wanted to feel but just didn't on a daily basis. 

Here is one of the photos Jill Ann captured at our maternity session.

She followed that by capturing our family of four at home while praying that our three year old would stay still and our newborn would sleep! They turned out just the way I would have wanted if I were taking the photos myself...even though my three year old DIDN'T stay still and my newborn DIDN'T sleep!

Here is one of the family images she captured for us!

While capturing our family in our home, she mentioned finding the perfect light throughout the house. I soaked in everything she said like a sponge and used it in the following weeks. Even with the knowledge of the light and the other small things she mentioned, I just wasn't getting exactly what I wanted. They were close, but still not great. Why, oh why, couldn't I just capture the beauty that I was seeing with my eyes!?

Here are some examples of me utilizing the light that Jill Ann showed me in my own home but AUTO did not know exactly how to capture the moment perfectly!

 

Jill Ann also mentioned a Photography Workshop for MOMS that she taught. I so badly wanted to learn how to use this stupid camera I had for over three years! I was able to take decent pictures but they were nowhere near great. I saw a Mother's Day special on Facebook, screenshot it and sent it to my husband instructing him to get it for me! As a good husband would, he purchased the class for me after only the third reminder. :)

During ONE Saturday, I learned that I couldn't capture what I was seeing for two reasons!

First, I had the expensive camera on the auto setting. That's the only button I knew besides the on/off switch and the picture taking button! Now I know more about my camera buttons and why my iPhone pictures took better pictures. 

Second, I learned that the kit lens was worth NOTHING! All I needed was at least one new lens and three words,  "I am Sam"! You should take the Workshop to learn what "I am Sam" means. I promise, it is life changing.

I left the class feeling so inspired and empowered. I was going to get this once and for all. I immediately went home and took some pictures with my "kit lens". They were better...but still not great! After a few days of messing with the kit lens, I decided to buy a $200 50 mm lens. When I told my husband I wanted a new 50 milliliter lens, he died laughing! He said, "I think you mean millimeter." "Oh yeah," I replied, "that too!" I got the lens after only a few days and have been having a blast with it.

Immediately following the Workshop here are a few backyard playtime gems I captured with my new skills!

After buying my new friend (the 50 MILLIMETER lens), I unpacked my SWAG bag from the Workshop. (which was an awesome bonus mind you!) I stumbled across the 30-Day photo challenge. Of course, being the creative human that I am, I couldn't go by just the items listed! I took my own twist on the list and have started capturing photos of my children's lives without my children in the photos. It's great practice and helps me capture items as memories and not just "things".  

This is the lamp in the nursery that shows the books that I had as a child.

These are my toddler's shoes that I know she will grow out of quickly. I took these images using the backyard playground to show where my daughter plays wearing these shoes!

I'm loving my new knowledge and the creativity that it has inspired. 

First and foremost, thank you Jill Ann for empowering me to capture the "little" moments that we have each and every day. 

Second, watch out world, my camera and I are on a mission to capture the hearts and joy of people. 

And lastly, I'm sorry Facebook and Instagram friends! I know you have seen tons of pictures of my children over the past three years. You will definitely be seeing more! At least they will be more creative and fun to look at!

If you ARE like me from the past 3 years, carrying around a huge expensive camera without a lick of knowledge on how to use it, I have 2 suggestions for you!  

ONE, get rid of the DSLR and stick with your phone and the grainy pics you get with that.

TWO, invest in learning how to use it with this life changing Photography Workshop I took with Jill Ann!  I am so sad that I wasted so many years without this precious gift of knowledge on my camera and how to be a better storyteller through my images for my kids!  Worth every penny and more!  You can't put a price tag on the images I am now able to capture of my kids!

Here my daughter and I were enjoying a pedicure date so we stopped by the makeup counter for some special beauty fun and a photo opportunity for mama!

 Love this image of my baby girl!

XOXO
Jen

Thank you so much Jennifer for sharing your journey with your DSLR!  I am beyond excited to watch you capture your kids story through the years!  So wonderful to see how much the Workshop has changed the world you see through your lens!  Wishing you many blessings!

Are you ready to go on the same journey?

WHEN is the next WORKSHOP?  That's the question I keep getting asked!  I am taking the Growing Confidence Workshop to WISCONSIN on June 28th!  There are only a few seats left so hurry to grab your spot!

JUNE 28th, 9:30am to 5:00pm, HARTFORD, WI
Still time to utilize the 20% off Discount Code: earlybird

TEXAS GALS!! Email me if you want to be placed on a special list to contact with the next Workshop sign up date before the public knows!  photographybyjillann@gmail.com

COMING THIS FALL! Woot! Woot!

May Growing Confidence Photography Workshop for Moms PART 2 {McKinney, TX Me Ra Koh Confidence Teacher}

Yesterday you got to experience the behind-the-scenes of the most recent Growing Confidence Photography Workshop with Jen & Molly.  IF you missed it, you can check it out HERE.

I am so proud of the 2 women that attended the May Workshop.  They were not afraid to get down to babies level to best capture the story.  One of the key elements to being a great storyteller through imagery is getting the details!  Confidence Student Jen nailed some details of our subjects in the images below.

One very important detail in my book for babies is those stinkin' cute PIGGIES they have! Jen captured those sweet curled up baby toesies for both babies that attended the Workshop.  SO YUMMY!!

Another detail I love about babies is their eyelashes!  This is a perfect eyelash shot Jen! You not only captured the eyelashes but we get to also see the sweet nose, squishy cheekers and puckered baby lips to boot!

I love this image of baby girl because she had her face right up to the lens!  She seriously wanted to get her hands on the camera to get her photography career started right now!

Who doesn't love babies tiny hands rubbing their eyes telling mama they are tired.  Let me tell you sweet baby girl, being a model is exhausting work!

Feeding time!  Babies and their bottles, not to mention the skill to feed themselves!  I love this! It won't be long before this baby girl is eating on her own and moving on to sippy cups!

Molly had a blast utilizing mama has her backdrop!  I love having mama's presence in the shots!  Too often mom is the one behind the camera and not the one holding baby!  

What a great profile image here of baby with a glimpse of mom adoring her daughter looking on!

Molly utilized both mama's holding their baby so they could look over mama's shoulder.  I like the presence of mama as the one holding onto them! LOVE!

This capture of mom adoring her daughter knowing she is showing off her baby blues and adorable bottom teeth with that precious smile.........MELT.MY.HEART!

Again telling the story with DETAIL SHOTS!  Nuf Said!

One of the things we discuss is Shutter Speed when capturing these quick lil' munchkins! The next 2 shots show how Molly knew to have her Shutter Speed up to freeze the action!  

The 1st shot is of baby girl shaking that necklace super fast!  Had she had her shutter speed too low the pearls would be super blurry!  This way we see the Pearls in ACTION!

In the next image Molly also had her shutter speed set properly to freeze baby in action while she is playing with mama's sunglasses and getting super excited about this new toy! Can you see the babies excitement?

Seriously, let's really congratulate these girls on a job well done!!  All of these images are taken within hours of learning HOW TO SHOOT IN MANUAL!  Is that crazy or what?  I am telling you this Workshop is changing the way these mom's capture their family story the minute they leave!  It melts my heart that God is giving me this opportunity to reach moms in Dallas, Wisconsin and even Houston to equip them with the knowledge to really step back, pause and capture what they see, feel and know they never want to forget through images that will tell the story for many years to come!  I am blessed to be sharing my knowledge with these moms that have a heart to tell their childrens story AND to tell it well!  What a legacy they will be leaving for their kids!

Don't forget Jen is going to share her experience from her perspective in the tomorrow's PART 3 blog!  You don't want to miss what she has to say!

WHEN is the next WORKSHOP?  That's the question I keep getting asked!  I am taking the Growing Confidence Workshop to WISCONSIN on June 28th!  There are only a few seats left so hurry to grab your spot!

JUNE 28th, 9:30am to 5:00pm, HARTFORD, WI
Still time to utilize the 20% off Discount Code: earlybird

TEXAS GALS!! Email me if you want to be placed on a special list to contact with the next Workshop sign up date before the public knows!  photographybyjillann@gmail.com

COMING THIS FALL! Woot! Woot!

xo, JA

May Growing Confidence Photography Workshop for Moms PART 1 {McKinney, TX - Me Ra Koh Confidence Teacher}

What a blessed May Growing Confidence Photography Workshop for Moms!  

With several women having commitments come up that made it impossible to attend this past May Photography Workshop I was left with the decision to either move the date or keep the Workshop as is.  I have a heart for moms to know their DSLR cameras and to be the best storyteller for their family they can be.  I knew that one of the students signed up for the May Workshop had a 6 month old baby at home.  There are so many milestones in a child's life to document! I believe the 1st year of life has the most milestones at one time. As a baby Photographer I witness so many babies each year change and grow by leaps and bounds!  I am always so amazed at how I go from the Newborn session to 1st Year Milestone in the blink of an eye!  Moms with cameras cannot afford to miss those 1st year moments, there is SO MUCH story to be told!  

Sweet Jen's husband bought her the Workshop for Mother's Day, I knew her 2nd born was only 6 months old and my heart could not reschedule this Workshop and allow her to miss out on the next 6 months!  Boy am I glad I did that! You will not want to miss Jen's story on what the Workshop meant to her and what she captured the days following the Workshop!

Here are the 2 sweet ladies that spent the day with me!  We worked so hard during the sessions we were a hot mess but still smilin'!

We had so much laughter and great storytelling throughout the day! Not to mention learning the ins and outs of taking control of their DSLR Cameras and shooting in Manual Mode with CONFIDENCE!

We had 2 baby girl models join us in the afternoon for some Manual Mode practice inside the house and outside!  

I love how Jen and Molly were not afraid to get down to the babies level to capture their cuteness!

This sweet girl was so curious about the camera itself!  She wasn't crawling before she got there but I think she was definitely crawling by the time the session was over!  Maybe she is a Photographer in the making!

Jen learned the frustrations of how her Kit Lens limits her ability to capture what she sees but forged on and had some great captures!  Jen rocked the detail shots and really grabbed a hold of that very important storytelling element!  Molly nailed utilizing mama in the background to add to the story and had her shutter speed working for her to freeze the action!  Check out tomorrow's blog to see what Molly and Jen captured that day!

Don't forget Jen is going to share her experience from her perspective in the 3rd blog this week!  You don't want to miss what she has to say!

WHEN is the next WORKSHOP?  That's the question I keep getting asked!  I am taking the Growing Confidence Workshop to WISCONSIN on June 28th!  There are only a few seats left so hurry to grab your spot!

JUNE 28th, 9:30am to 5:00pm, HARTFORD, WI
Still time to utilize the 20% off Discount Code: earlybird

TEXAS GALS!! Email me if you want to be placed on a special list to contact with the next Workshop sign up date before the public knows!  photographybyjillann@gmail.com

COMING THIS FALL! Woot! Woot!

xo, JA

My Color Is GREEN in 2014

My color is GREEN in 2014 and my word is NEW.  Recently I sat down to take a moment for myself just to listen.  I quieted my mind and waited to see what my color and word would be for 2014.   Truly, when Me Ra asked me to do this I didn't believe anything would come to me nor have any meaning for my year. Right?

I set my timer, closed my eyes, quieted the noise in my head and just listened.............

There it was a bright, vibrant, luscious green that made my heart skip a beat.  I immediately started envisioning growth, springtime, all things............NEW.  Yes, my vision for 2014 for ME is in the color GREEN and in the word NEW.  I sat there and thought about flowers, how they start underneath the soil and need water, nurturing and sunlight to become something.  Once the seed receives all that it needs to grow, it sprouts and breaks through the soil as a green stem.  The green stem needs to be watered, nurtured and fed from the light shining on it.  The growth happens quickly and from it opens beautiful blooms.  All that feast their eye on the bloom can now see the beauty that the seed held all along.  They can now take in all that the bloom has to share through their eyes and heart.

I am breaking through the soil and starting new growth in 2014, I see a beautiful bloom happening soon.  I look forward to sharing this with others so they can see it, feel it and experience it with me.

I went to buy myself flowers to represent my color and word for 2014.  I assumed the green that I saw would be in the stem and leaves.  Imagine my surprise when the first bouquet of flowers I saw held green blooms.

Take a moment to see what color or word my fellow Confidence Teacher Janna saw when she took the time to quiet her mind.

xo, JA

Growing Confidence with Jill Ann. A Photography Workshop for Moms.

First Growing Confidence Workshop SOLD OUT! Woot! Woot! I can not tell you how in awe I am to have this opportunity through Me Ra Koh to reach out to the Dallas area Moms to help them Grow their Confidence with their DSLR. To empower them to get comfy with their camera to be their family storyteller through imagery!

What an honor it was to meet these 6 beautiful women that attended my November Workshop! They all have their own story on what brought them to the Workshop, different skill levels and knowledge of the DSLR. The thing that they all have in common is the drive to be a better storyteller for their families!

One of these ladies filled the last spot THE DAY BEFORE THE WORKSHOP!!! You DO NOT want to miss tomorrows blog post about how God showed up and brought her there! Make sure you grab a box of kleenex and meet me on the blog tomorrow to hear her story! Whooooo, it's a good one!

We started off the day with a lil' SWAG! I had pictures of the SWAG bags I put together for the ladies and for some reason can't find them! Figures during busy season! So here is a little bit of what was included, a picture retake! Lol!

That jumps me right into the part of the day where I had a little mini panic attack. We were moving along so nicely. Happily going through the Workbook and learning all about the Magic 3 to prepare the ladies for a live session with the mommy/baby models. I kept looking down at my watch to make sure we were on track for the 1:45pm arrival of the models. Weeeeellll, kinda rushed my sweet ladies thru lunch in order to allow time to finish the material. Let's be honest, I felt like I quickly stuffed their faces so we could move on! Only to find out that, yours truly, forgot to change the time on her WATCH from daylight savings the prior week! OY VEY! We had an extra hour to spare, like daylight savings happened all over again! Yeah! Totally meant to do that to make the ladies laugh as hard as they did! Thanks for the support guys! 

The moms and babies arrived right on time and can I just say these ladies rocked their sessions and had some serious "A-HA" moments! I kept feeling like I was going to cry watching these ladies put to practice what they were taught through the day! Look at some "behind the scenes" images of the ladies at work!

It was soooooo hard to choose which images to share that these women captured! As they say in Texas, "Y'ALL" did AH-MAZING!  Here goes!

I'm going to start off with Marie! It was beautiful watching her confidence grow and the excitement she had in her eyes as she saw the images she was capturing! Take a look at this ADORABLE little boy smiling from ear to ear playing with his mama!

Marie captured this gem for mama! Mom is a HUGE Longhorns fan! I'm thinkin' her lil' baby girl is also going to be a Longhorns fan! What do you think? Love it!

What a sweet image from Ashley! Mom is just smitten with her boy, I love her presence in the image and how his smile just makes me want to smile! Great moment captured!

Ashley used the rule of thirds here and placed the subject to the left of the image, not only does that draw your attention straight to him but so do those bright blue eyes!!!  

My heart melted when Aimee shared this capture! Mom looks gorgeous and content and baby girl is giving us a lil' yawn or maybe a sigh that says "she loves her mama!"

Oh my goodness Aimee!! You captured an ah-mazing moment of giggles here! Love the presence of mom and the squishy button nose from giggling! So much to love about this capture!

Rachel did such a great job capturing the mom's joy here. Look at that sparkle in moms eye showing us how smitten she is with her sleepy cuddlebug! Placing baby on moms shoulder is a very flattering pose for new moms! Lovely!

I think Rachel has the knack for capturing moments with mom! Mom and baby have nothing but pure delight on their faces!

I just want to reach in and snuggle this baby! Jennifer rocked this shot with great composition, catch light in his eyes and those sweet lil' dimply hands to boot!

OH.MY.GOODNESS! This is nothing but a priceless moment captured between the relationship of this mom and baby! Way to go Jennifer!

I feel like baby is looking right at me saying "this is my mom and I can be in her arms all day!". A sweet content moment captured by Brenda!

The next 2 images are also captured by Brenda! Can I just say this lady swooped in with her 100mm 2.8 Macro lens that she never told me she owned and went after those "defining detail" shots to tell the story! LOVE that she did these!

Brenda saw this moment through her camera when mom went in for a kiss. She not only nailed it but she captured it using moms curls to frame the defining detail of the lips! I could hardly contain my heart when I saw this! It was bursting with joy to see the creativity in this shot! My cup runneth over!

Here is another defining detail shot Brenda captured. See how the focus of her story is babies hand holding onto moms thumb? It also shows how tiny babies hand is in moms hand. The other amazing thing about this image is how she included babies lips on the bottom right corner, I'd say it looks like baby is smiling! All around a well composed shot and a great storytelling image! Mom will say years from now, "I can't believe your hand was that tiny!" With this image she can relive that moment in time over and over again!

As I said earlier, it was truly hard for me not to cry during these sessions. Seeing these ladies "get it" and capture ALL of these moments in MANUAL just filled my soul more than I even imagined! When I partnered with Me Ra Koh I knew it was all part of God's plan for me but I guess I didn't expect to feel like I have arrived to his ultimate plan for me to use my gift. There is so much joy inside me from the day I had with these women. I am humbled and honored that they chose to grow their confidence with me as their mentor. I can say with complete confidence that these ladies are going to do nothing but SOAR from here! Their families will never be the same. The moments they capture of their kids will be more amazing than they could have dreamed. I am truly blessed to have had each one of these creative spirits touch my heart! Thank you for being apart of my first Workshop, thank you for being the first 6 women that I got the privilege of teaching. 

I am beyond excited to be apart of many more mamas lives out there! I can't wait to empower more Dallas women to be their families storyteller! Are you ready to grow your confidence like these ladies did? What an amazing gift to you for Christmas AND to your family for a lifetime! Will you be joining me at my next Workshop on February 8th, 2014? Arriving in the Store soon and open to 8 mamas wanting to fuel their creative spirit! Looking forward to meeting you in the new year! Watch my Facebook page over the next few days for a Cyber MONDAY DEAL you won't want to miss!  

I promise I will have the CORRECT time on my watch at the next Workshop!

DON'T FORGET! MEET ME ON THE BLOG TOMORROW TO HEAR THE AMAZING STORY OF THE "LAST SPOT"! You will not want to miss it! Grab some coffee and your kleenex in the morning and I'll see you there!

Want to send these lovely ladies some encouragement for a job well done, post a comment below!

Much Love, JA xo