Seniors What to Wear!

Preparing your senior for their pictures can be a difficult task. One of the biggest questions I get is "What should I wear?" "What type of things should I bring?"

So today I would like to give you a few clothing tips to make your Senior Portraits a memorable one!

What Should you wear?

Clothes should represent who you are and how you want to be remembered. Try to keep them simple and most of all comfortable! Keep in mind that during your shoot you will be moving around a lot (sitting, standing, laying on the ground) and you want to make sure you will be comfortable while doing different poses. Since your shoot will happen outdoors and walking will be involved try to keep your shoes comfortable as well. Or bring an extra pair of slip on shoes to wear while walking!
Another factor to keep in mine is your year book photo. Check with your school to make sure of the regulations on what is required and not allowed. Typically this photo is done first!

What to bring?

Are you into sports? Music? Have a special hobby? Feel free to bring your own props to add to your photos. After all these photos are to represent you as a person!
I also suggest bringing water, snacks, touch up make up, hair brush, and a friend or two!
But most of all bring your smile and have fun!!

What to Wear: Families and Children

You searched and searched and you finally found the perfect photographer. Your session date is set and retainer paid! Then you realized, you have no idea what to wear!

Clothes are an important aspect of your photos, and today I hope I can help you by giving out a few tips on what to wear to your photo session.

Families/Children
-keep it simple
      simple clothing will help to bring out your personal beauty.
-Be comfortable
      Chances are you will moving around a lot and changing positions and  locations during your photo session. Wearing both comfortable clothes and shoes    will make your experience more enjoyable.
-Be yourself
       Wear clothes that represent who you are! When you look back at your photos you want to look back and remember who you were at that time!
-Prepare you outfit(s) of choice the night before
         Make sure your clothes are ironed and fit properly the night before. For little ones bring a couple extra outfits just in case of stains or accidents.

So as you can see choosing your outfit for your photo shoot shouldn't be to hard! Be yourself, be comfortable and be prepared! If in doubt ask your photographer for pointers! 

Stay tuned to next weeks blog: What to wear High School Seniors!

A Joy to Photograph!

This beautiful young lady was such a joy to photograph! Photographing adults can be exciting and different. You have different challenges that you must conquer to get that perfect shot.

But as a photographer I am always up to a good challenge! 

You may ask what kind of challenge I had with this beautiful young lady? Often times in adults the main challenge is getting the real and relaxed smile. We all have those photographs were we are saying "cheese", but what is the fun in that? My goal as a photographer is to make sure that each photo represents who you are as a person, to show your true self and to most importantly show case your beautiful smile! In this young lady's case it was very easy!

Look Who Is Four!!

I had the wonderful honor of photographing four year old Payton. 

Payton was such a doll to work with! And her smile was to die for. Photographing children is always so much fun, not only dose it give you permission to be a little silly, but you can almost get away acting like a child yourself. 

There are many challenges when working with little ones, but I find with great patience  good jokes, and maybe a little bit of bribery the photo session can end in all smiles for all involved!

Thank You Ms. Payton for being such a sweet little girl and allowing me to capture your special day!!

Custom Photography! Don't let it scare you!

Custom photography is a luxury and not always right for everyone. Unlike chain stores, a Professional Photographer can give you a unique a different approach in capturing your  memories.

Families though, can often times get a major shock when it comes to the cost of custom photography. There are several reason why the cost of a professional photographer is different compared to those who are hobbyist photographer or a retail studio. 

With a professional photographer you are paying for the one on one time, experience and eye. They have countless hours of training and spend thousands of dollars on equipment to make your experiences more enjoyable! Retail stores are more worried about getting you in and out. The time spent with the photographer at a retail store is on average of 30 minutes. A professional photographer will spend hours if need be to capture that perfect shot. 

In this day and age, just about anyone can "claim" to be a professional photographer. Unfortunately, many families are lured into the "deals" that these so called professionals offer, and when clients walk away they are often times disappointed with their experiences they had from these photographers. It is very important to make sure your custom photographer is established and they know the in and outs of their business. 

So when seeking out a photographer, whether it be retail or professional, shop around. Look at style of the photos, don't let price of a custom photographer scare you and remember the old saying, you get what you paid for. Often times in photography this is true. 

Behind the Camera of JB Photography

Ever wonder who is behind the camera of JB Photography?
Well, that person is me! Johnna Bowker and today I would love to tell you a little bit about myself!

My name is pronounced John-na and I was named after a girl my parents went to high school with

I am an only child

I have two kids and I have been happily married for 8 years

On my wedding day we didn't have a wedding photographer :(

I love HGTV and True Crime Shows

My favorite Food is Pizza

I love to Garden and been told I have a pretty good green thumb

I am extremely close to my grandfather

I use to play ice and roller hockey, I played for 9 years!

My favorite color is Red

I admire Abraham Lincoln

I am obsessed with antiques especially from the 1800s

What to expect when booking with JB Photography!

One thing as a photographer that I take great pride in is my turn around rate on my photos! If you have an upcoming shoot with JB Photography or considering a shoot with JB Photography I would like to give you an inside look on what it will consist of!!

1. Book a session with JB Photography
           Once you book, I take great care in making sure you have plenty of time for your shoot. You will never be rushed though your photo shoot and I understand that sometimes children and pets need that extra time and attention!! Before the shoot begins you must have your payment ready!

2. After you shoot
            Once the shoot has ended the fun process begins. I take great pride in getting your photos to you quick. Once the editing process begins, which usually occurs that same day/evening your photos will become viewable on JB Photography's proof site (http://johnnabowker.smugmug.com/).  In MOST cases your photos will be completely  ready to view on my proof site with in 24 hours. Once all the edits are finished you have the option of letting me know of any additional edits that you would like. This is a free service offered by JB Photography!

3. Getting your disk/photos
             Once your photos are completed you have two options. You may receive a disk of all your edited photos (if included in your package) or you may take them off my proof site (if included in your package). 

A differnt type of party!!

Having a family get together? Child's birthday party? Or just want a unique get together? JB Photography now offers Portrait Parties!

What is a Portrait Party?
A Portrait Party is a fun and exciting way to get your photos done at a reasonable price. As a host of a portrait party you have the opportunity to give your friends and family a different kind of party, plus having your photos done for free!

How does a Portrait Party work?
You, the host will gather 5-10 families/children/friends who wish to have their photos taken. You choose an outdoor location and if you choose you can offer your quest refreshments and food, games and fun. Each session will consist of 30-45 minutes depending on the number of families attending the party. Each session must be done back to back. And after the shoot your guest are more than welcome to leave!

How much do Portrait Parties cost?
For you the host, nothing, plus you will receive your session free and all your edited photos placed on disk with a print release!! Your guest is required to pay  a $30 non-refundable sitting fee. If you quest orders a disk of their photos they will receive a credit of $30 towards the purchase of their disk. Disk price: $75 with Credit: $45

Things to keep in mind:
A minimum of 5 different sessions are required to host a portrait party
Time will be limited so pick your location carefully
Pets and props are always welcomed!!

If you are interested in booking a Portrait Party today please contact me at info@jlynnprophoto.com

visit me on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/JB.Photography.Bethalto

Choosing the right photographer

There are many reason why it is important to choose the right photographer. When having your pictures taken your photographer has only once chance to get it right and there are several factors to keep in mind which include: Portfolio, personality of photographer, and of course price.

First area I would like to touch on is portfolio. With many photographers offering disk I always suggest to check out the coloring of the photos. Do they have a tint to them? Do they look natural? When printing pictures from a CD, chain stores will NOT color correct the pictures and often times there printers are not color calibrated often. Another thing I suggest those looking for a photographer is to browse though several different galleries, many time photographers will use different styles and this will give you a good idea on what type of service you will be receiving.

Second area to look into would be personality of the photographer. Here is a scenario for you, you book a shoot with a photographer, you show up and say you hellos. Once the shoot starts the photographer seems to be in a rush and rather rude. At this point, the last thing you want to do is smile and chances are good that your personality will not be captured. To prevent this I suggest meeting your photographer face to face and possibly see what reviews your photographer has; even if the shoot is for a family portrait, you want to make sure that your photographer is easy going and will give you want you want and need!

Lastly is price. The economy is rough, many are cutting out photography from their budget and chain stores can suck you in with the same boring package with the same boring portrait. Do your research on the average prices of professional photography, look at their work. I have found often times you will get what you pay for. Granite the price may be lower, but the quality we be less than exceptional!


I hope you have found these tips helpful and if you ever have any questions feel free to contact me at info@jlynnprophoto.com.

You can view my work at: www.jlynnprophoto.com
And Like me on facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/#!/JB.Photography.Bethalto

Cherish Your Mom's this Mother Day!

On October 15th 2008 my dear mom passed away. She was 42 years old and an incredible woman. She and my father had me when they were teenagers and years later she studied hard and became a nurse. Ever day I miss her and everyday I wish I had taken just one more extra picture, but I know she is smiling down on me from Heaven. So with that being said, this Mother's Day I would like to offer a wonderful Mother's day Session and dedicate it to all the mom's who couldn't be with us today!

This Mother's Day JB Photography is offering a  $50 session and you will receive a photo session and 10 edited photos on disk for you to print or use on facebook! Locations: Downtown Alton, IL, Gordon Moore Park, and Henry Street Park in Alton, IL!


                                                  This is the last picture I have of me and my mom

Seeking A Senior Represative for the 2012-2013 School Year!

JB Photography is seeking a Senior in High School for the 2012-2013 school year. Must be in the Metro East (IL) area.

Senior will receive the following
-Free Photography time (a couple of locations)
-unlimited out fit changes
-10 edited photos placed on disk for your to print plus year book photo

Senior must be willing to...
-Pass out wallet size rep cards to friends and family to help spread the word out about JB Photographer
-Not use any other professional photographer for their senior portraits, unless agreed upon by photographer
-give credit of all pictures taken by photographer on social media sites (Facebook, myspace)

if interested contact
Johnna Bowker
info@jlynnprophoto.com

website: www.jlynnprophoto.com
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JB.Photography.Bethalto

A picture is worth a thousand words!

A picture is worth a thousand words! A photographers job is to capture feeling of the moment and the perfect picture shouldn't even need a caption or a title.

I had the special honor of photographing my grandfather, who is a very special to my family and I. A hard working man, and has for the most part, enjoyed this roller coaster we call life. These pictures are taken of him and my kids, his great grand-babies!

"Like" JB Photography Facebook Page Today for a chance to win!!

Wanting updated family pictures? Have a senior in High School that will need pictures taken? Or just want an updated facebook photo?? Well, JB Photography is offering her fans a great opportunity to win a free photo-session! All you have to do is this!

1. Go to http://www.facebook.com/#!/JB.Photography.Bethalto and click "like"

2. Then click on the arrow next to the "message" button on the right hand side and click share!

3. Then post to my wall that you shared JB Photography

Once The fan page has reached 250 likes the drawing will begin!!

So enter today!

Operation Love: Reunited

I am proud to say that I am a volunteer as well as St. Louis Regional Coordinator for wonderful organization Operation Love: Reunited.

Operation: Love Reunited is a fully volunteer-based organization that offers fee-free professional photography sessions to military families and members who are getting ready to deploy, who are currently deployed, or those who are coming home. Clients are able to choose from two sessions (see below) within a year/deployment. To provide the support to the military personnel, photographers send a 4×6 album from the session overseas at no cost to the family*.

For military families you need to meet the following qualifications:
Clients are allowed 2 sessions per year/deployment. Here are the session options
a) Pre-deployment session with service person and family
b) Leaving session at the time of the actual departure
c) Mid-deployment session with the family while service person is deployed
d) R&R session done when service person is home for R&R
e) Homecoming session at the actual time of arrival

You must be an immediate family member of or a member of the military (dating counts!)

The military member must have orders to deploy or a letter of command and are REQUIRED

Warzone deployments only, see below. Unaccompanied tours are not qualified at this time, this includes Korea.

The orders shall be a departure period of 4 or more months overseas and at least 3 months (90 days) prior to returning to the United States

Combat zones are designated by an Executive Order from the President as areas in which the U.S. Armed Forces are engaging or have engaged in combat. There are currently three such combat zones (including the airspace above each):

1. Arabian Peninsula Areas – the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, the part of the Arabian Sea north of 10° North latitude and west of 68° East longitude, the Gulf of Aden, and the countries of Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
2. Kosovo area – Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), Albania, the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea north of the 39th Parallel.
3. Afghanistan
4. In addition, we will also allow three parts of the former Yugoslavia to be treated as if it were a combat zone and therefore covered: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Macedonia.

To find a local photographer in our area go to: http://www.oplove.org/oplovefinder/

To qualify as a volunteer photographer with OpLove, you need to meet the following qualifications:

• Been in business or have been an apprentice/worked under another photographer for a minimum of 3 years
• Have a website/blog (Facebook, MySpace, etc. are not considered professional websites and/or blogs)
• Are willing to waive multiple session fees over the course of time for deploying clients
• Print with a professional lab, and able to send a 4×6 album of images overseas to military personnel at no cost to them
• Use a SLR, DSLR or Medium Format camera body

To apply as a photographer go to: http://www.oplove.org/admin/machform/view.php?id=1

*At no time is an album or disc of images sent directly to the family members as the purpose is to provide morale for the military member

Spring Mini Session!

Spring Mini Session for only $30!
Haven't had family pictures in a while? Do you wish to have Easter pictures done? Want and updated profile picture for social media?

JB Photography is offering Spring Mini Session for the month of March for only $30!

I will accept bookings on the weekends of March 24 and 25 and March 31 and April 1, 2012

Your mini session will consist of:
30 minutes of photography time
5 digital files with print release
option to have extra time and to buy extra digital files

Location will be Gordon Moore Park

If interested contact me at info@jlynnprophoto.com

What a Photographer Does!

What goes into a picture? You just point and shoot right? Then place it on the computer and show your clients?

In a perfect world photography would be this simple, but unfortunately this isn't a perfect world and some things are just not that simple.

There is a lot that goes into your photographs and today I would like to put a little insight into what that is.

Number one is equipment. You can't expect a surgeon to do surgery without his tools, and a photographer can't do their job without theirs. My typical camera bag consist of two DSLR cameras, various sizes lens, white balance meters, two flashes, lens filters and extra batteries. Now of course this all cost money, but you can have an $8,000 camera and not know how to use it! I have spent countless hours learning my camera inside out. I shoot in manual mode, which means I have  complete control over my photos. It takes a lot of time and practice and if you don't know what you are doing then the outcome will not be nice.

Number two is actually taking the pictures. There is a lot more to taking a picture than just aim and shoot. A photographer must know about lighting, posing, composition of a photo and countless other factors that can affect the client and the photographer.

Number three is editing of the pictures. Even though the digital age of photography has been a wonderful thing. We as photographers still have to edit and retouch photos, but instead of a darkroom we do the edits on our computer. Here is an example: The 1st one has no edits, the 2nd one has basic edits.

So imagine, your photographer takes 100 photos, that means that your photographer will have to open, edit and convert the file to jpeg (many photographers shoot in Raw, which is an uncompressed file) even if the photo comes out perfect the photographer must still convert your photos to a jpeg for viewing online and printing.

Now I know there are a lot of points that have been missed, cost is a major factor, especially when it comes to equipment. A lot of time is spent trying to reach clients and we are constantly having to fine tune our business to go with the times. Just remember, just like your local grocery store, clothing stores, and fast food restaurant, we run a business and even though it may not seem like a lot of work, it is! But I love every minute of it!

A reason for being me!

"Daddy what did you look like as a baby?" my daughter asked my husband, his response? "I am not sure, we never had pictures taken!" As a parent I know how precious baby pictures can be and knowing that my husband, someone I love very much, doesn't have baby pictures breaks my heart.

This story is not only true, but also the reason why I offer promotions and give aways several times a year!

My family is not very typical, my husband is a college student, currently studying at SIUE. My first full-time job is being a stay at home mom, but my passion in life is my photography. My husband and I struggle everyday, like many Americans are, just to pay bills and buy gas for our car. But, we know there are many out there who are struggling worse than we are, and we count our blessings every day!

With that being said, we are always trying to find ways to give back to others. And one way is though my business as a photographer. I truly love what I do, and I take what I do very serious. But as I have said several times since starting JB Photography, I am not out to make millions of dollars but to capture those beautiful moments in life that should be captured. With that being said, I do have to charge, as it hard work. But, I strive to give the best price possible and will work with my clients on a payment plan and custom packages.

This is why I encourage everyone to participate in my give aways and promotions that I do throughout the year. And I encourage anyone who is unable to afford photography to contact me!

Everyone deserves beautiful pictures, regardless of income!

Facebook and Pinterest

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and pinterest!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/JB.Photography.Bethalto

http://pinterest.com/jlynnprophoto/