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/

Don't forget Your Dads

Father's day is just around the corner!! JB Photography can offer you quality photos at an affordable price. Mention this posting and receive an extra 10% off your session fee!

Life on a budget is not easy!

In today's day and age it is so hard to take the time or the money to get family pictures done. Times are so tough right now and many are choosing to go to the retail stores, take their own photos, or opt out on pictures all together!

This makes me extremely sad, not only as a photographer, but as wife and mother. Many people wonder why and how do I work with those on a budget, well today I would like to tell you!!

First of all the why; in August of 2007 my family and I relocated to the area so my husband can pursue his education. At this time the economy was still strong and jobs were still out there. At the time of the move he did not have a job and our income consisted of the GI Bill which at the time was $1,126 a month. We are a family of four and as you can imagine this was not a very easy budget to live on. After graduation in 2009 we found that the economy had hit this area very hard, and after countless of interviews he was having no luck in finding a job. So in Jan 2010 my husband decided to go back to school. In 2010 he was unable to find a job, and no with the lack of trying. Thankfully 2011 is starting to look up for us, but the uncertainty of tomorrow we never know what could happen.

Now for the how. My business only gives you what you need. We won't sell you anything you don't want nor try to sell you anything extra. We also offer payment plans and many different options to receive your photos (disks, prints, by the photo and so on). So each session is customized to what you need. The key is to negotiate, if you don't think a price is fair just ask!!

I hope you find this post useful!
Best
Johnna