Why I Cost More

What? Why are you posting such a scary subject? Are you crazy? Why are you exploiting "being expensive?" I'm not. I'm shedding light on the subject of custom/specializing portraiture. So here's the story: My sister-in-law (who by the way always has me in stitches) called me the other day and told me that a friend of hers wanted to get some family portraits. So, Cynthia showed her my website. (YAH! You go girl!) And her friend told her that I was too expensive. She's not the only one who has expressed this. So I wanted to share my side of my passion and specializing with you. So she went and had them taken in (shudder) The Mall because it would be cheaper. So Cynthia's friend shows her the photos (for which she (the friend) is not too happy with) and Cynthia asks her how much cheaper it was. Come to find out, she spent about the same amount at The Mall as she would have on my photo session! (so much for those coupons!) So Cynthia was like "What?" Dude, you could have gotten custom portraits that you really wanted, in an awesome location with Jamie for what you spent at The Mall! Her friend said, I know. I should have called her. Soooooo, with that being said, I found this article and really think that it's helpful in explaining why custom portraits are more expensive. I feel that this will help all of my wonderful, fantastic, present/future clients of mine. I have nothing to hide. See you soon! http://www.professionalchildphotographer.com/information/?p=6





These are from a recent session of mine and I just want to show you that you can't plan for stuff like this to happen in The Mall. They won't capture it for you. But I will! And I want to!



They were feeding the ducks and all of the sudden...

The "attack" happened! One of the ducks bit sweet "A" on the finger as she was feeding it Cheerios! You just can't plan for these things! How precious! (Oh, not the duck bite) The expressions! How REAL! And we captured it! YEAH!!

Daddy make duck tragedy all better baby.





And this one...the background, the water, the purity, the love.
aaaaaaahhhhh. The everything.





P.S. This is what Jennifer had to say about our time together: "Thanks so much - you made it very relaxing and enjoyable." When's the last time you heard someone say that about The Mall studio?

Validated

This was taken last June. We were in a motorhome and I saw this guy, grabbed my camera and snapped. I know it's blurry. I didn't have time to change the settings on my camera. I just thought it would be a cool photo. UCLA Graduation was going on and this was one of the grads. Cool! We honked the BIG HORN of the motorhome and he waaaavvvvvvveeeeeed back at us. I love the way Grandma looks in this photo too. But there is something else about this moment and scene that I captured that is totally rad! Look at the top right corner. Can you read what it says? It says: Validated! I mean, come on, how cool is that? And hey, I like the affect of the blllluuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrr! Any Seniors out there that are still without portraits? I'd be glad to photograph you too! It's not too late! I actually have an opening this Saturday, May 31st and also next Saturday, June 7th 8:30am or 6:00pm Let me know if you're interested!

IT's here..in all IT's GORGEOUSNESS!!!!

My NEW LOGO!!! Words cannot say how proud I am of this GORGEOUS addition to my business, er uh passion! I'm in awe of it. I LOVE it! The colors, the fonts, the scrolls...oh, beloved scrolls! My friend, T'Neil of TNT Graphics designed this ELEGANT work of art just for mua! T'Neil- honey, YOU ROCK! I emailed her some colors and ideas that I like and this is the amazing design that she came up with! I chose T'Neil because I knew if anyone could pull this together for me, it would be her! She is a bit of a fashion icon/bomb! Seriously. So...give her a shout and let her know what fine work she does! Or, if you need any graphics... AshleyTneil A HUMONGOUS thank you to her for my masterpiece!!! (I'm just so refined with my vocabulary sometimes..it kills me...humongous-gorgeousness-er-uh) For those of you precious friends and clients, I will be mailing some business cards to you soon! In the mean time, take care and remember that God is with you and He loves you more than you could ever imagine! -Jamie

This one's going on my website http://www.jamiephotos.com/

The look of my new business cards.

Creative Signature...pure creative!

Be Prepared To Cry

I sit here with tears that have just fallen out of my eyes. Down my cheeks and now run down my neck. You must go here http://audreycaroline.blogspot.com/2008/04/letter-to-my-daughter.html and read this. You MUST. For many reasons-you MUST. Be prepared to cry and be strengthened at the same time. -Jamie

Tickled Pink

Those are the perfect words to describe how I feel about these photos! I had one thought in mind that kept coming to me for this shoot...the one of Jennifer sitting on the table and Michael standing in front of her. I just knew it would be good but honey when I looked at this picture I about fainted! It is soooooo so so beatutiful. I love everything about it...especially little "A" in the background at the fountain. My. My. My. I must go on. I absolutely love being able to go to different locations to shoot. The "Tickled Pink" thing is fabulous. When we drove by it I knew we had to go back and get a few shots there. Jennifer does not know what she is having...would that be so perfect if it were a girl? But if not...they'll still tickled pink about their new bundle of joy. Miss "A" was a doll. Her Mommy and Daddy said that she usually doesn't take to people that well at first...but we seemed to of made friends quickly. Awwwwwww. Hi "A"!!! You're a sweet girly! And look at those pretty pictures! You did sooooo good!! I had a lovely time...I say lovely because that's what I felt when I was with you guys. Jennifer is like drop-dead gorgeous! Michael, you are blessed to have such a wife! I 'll just let the pictures do the talkin'. (Jennifer, did I say2-3 sneak peeks? Yah, right.)

2 Yr Old photo?

Sisterz

Well, this was all I was able to pull off today with this group. They really wanted no part of it...but did it against their own wills. Poor things. Anyway, I love these! That PKS (photographer kids syndrone) I've heard there's no cure. Though ice cream and candy works wonders at times!

It's Coming...Part 2

Yah, Yah, Yah. (Remember Arnold on Happy Days used to say that?) Okay, well go back and say it like him. I have another exciting addition for Jamie Johnson -Photographer!! It's gorgeous. It's soooooooo me. It's gorgeous. It's grungy...uh, good grungy. It's absolutely gorgeous. Scrolls and texture and pink accents-Oh My! I'ts...well, you just have to see it when it gets here. Hopefully in the next week or so! I can't wait to show you! Well, we're movin' on up! (The Jefferson's) You rock George! Oh Weezie! And on that note...I'm going to bed...where I should have been when I got home from church 3 hours ago! Good night...sleep tight...don't let the curious bug bite-bite-bite! Sweet dreams.

What Do You See

What do you see when you look at this picture? A chandelier? A genuine smile and excitement? Color? Texture? Lights? A sweet little girl pointing up? There's so much more than what you "see." What you don't see is a $1,500 chandelier that was purchased by a precious family that donated this to our church. What you don't see is the paint on the walls and the intricate wood work that was also donated to our church by loving people. What you don't see are the prayers, sweat, labor, and tears that have been poured into the making of this building. A building where people could come and worship. A building that would be a refuge to those who are seeking shelter from their storm. What you don't see is a little girl's daddy holding her up on his shoulders so she reach out and touch the stars in this photo. There's so much more than what we "see." We don't know situations and circumstances that go on in the lives of our fellow neighbor or even family. There's so much more than what we "see." I want to be sensitive to that. How? By not judging. By loving. By patience. By the help of God. There's so much more than what we "see." Lord, help me to see those things that only you know about in the lives of others. Help me to be sensitive and caring. Help me to edify and not tear down. Help me to understand. Help me to help them. In Jesus' name.

Oh Baby Girl!

Went to softball tournament in College Sation (home of the fighting Aggies) Saturday with hubby, girls. Met Baby D. Took photos of Baby D. After "A" saw Baby D, she asked if we could adopt a baby. "No." Ate BBQ after tourney. Went to Aggie campus. Beautiful land. Heartbreaking memorial. Took my breath away. Lumps in my throat. Tears in my eyes.

Made Pioneer Woman's homemade chocolate sheet cake! MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! You MUST make one too... http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ You'll never be the same...in body size after you do. Lovely weekend.

Fresh Air.

The breeze is coming through my window gently stirring my hair and arousing my senses. Ahhhhhhh the freshness of this breeze. (abrupt halt here! what a difference a day makes. yesterday I was all about being funny and today, well today, this is how I feel.) Just dreamy. Just cleany (for I cleaned/scrubbed my bathroom-baseboards and all, cleaned out the freezer, swept everywhere-okay not my bedroom yet!) I hear the birds outside my window singing their sweet little songs. Saw the prettiest female cardinal this morning. How did I know it was female? My middle daughter taught me that "the females are "uglier" than the males because they have to hide Mom." Makes sense to me. I did no further research on the subject. It's really not fair though. Let's move on shall we? Ah, yes, the day is filtered with clouds that block the sun from beating down on us. The temperature is 76* and so peaceful. A quiet day. To go with this day, there must be photos to compliement. Until tomorrow...(wow that's sounds soooo, Scarlet O'Hara ;)

Our Um, "Car"

So yesterday we go to get in our car (it's really and SUV but I don't want to call it that. It just sounds too "aren't we something" to me) and it won' crank. All you hear is this tat tat tat tat tat when you do. Oh well that's just stinkin' great. Did I mention that it was like 100* outside and we were all dressed for church? And MyRick had a white dress shirt on? Yah. So anyway, he went over to Earl's and knocked on the door. "Hey man, can you give us a jump?" Ear.- Sure, be happy to." So he drives the truck over (across the street) and that's not happening for some reason. I'm like in the middle of Bailey's apple drama. She is eating an apple with one of the homemade popsicle plastic stick thingies. "Look Mama! I'm eating my apple with This!" Being the frugal mom that I am, I said "Bailey, why are you doing that? You're wasting it and you're not even supposed to be eating in the car anyway!!!" UUUhh. I'm going in to peel it. All while in my very high black patten pumps. Gorgeous! Come out. Here baby, eat it now. MyRick..."Can you go get me a handkerchief babe?" Yah. Back up the stairs and down again while wearing my high gorgeous black patten high heels. I can't walk very good in those things! Okay...back to Earl's truck when I came back out, he had taken it back home (across the street) and brought over the Caddy! Oh I was so hoping that our um, "car" wouldn't start! I wanted to drive in that to church! Why you may ask? Weeelll, it's old, it's white and maroon with plush valour seats, maroon carriage top, white walls and it is for sale! It's $1950 to be exact. The asking price is stuck on the front windshield in BIG GREEN NUMBERS! Oh how I wanted everyone to see us drive up in that car! I know. Wierdy. But my plans were foiled as I heard the RRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRR RRRRRRRRR of our "car" and the RRRRR RRR RRR of Earl's Caddy! Man. I was bummed. So we made it to church and had a fabulous service. MyRick even called me a "hot -to -trot Mama!" Yes, those are quotation marks. Everyone even clapped on beat! How exciting!!! Visitors!! Kids!!! Sis Apple's laughter permiated the air! You couldn't have asked for a better night!
So we wake up this morning (more like dragging) How 'bout you take the girls to school I said. Okay, I'll go get a new battery while I'm out. Okay. So I'm getting ready and Prince Charming (see photo of him below) brings me (break out stage lighting and red curtains, the "see the light" music...you know the voices that go AAAAAHHHHHHHHH) Iced Grande Caramel Machiatto from http://www.starbucks.com/ OH. MY. GOODNESS. I'm in Heaven! So we're running errands and we see a new little Jeep I can't remember what it is but it was cute and it was new. The one with all of the lights on top. Yah, that's it. A man got out of his car and starts to push it. MyRick says, "I'm going to go help that man." Lights and music please. Did I mention that it was in the middle of a SUPER BUSY intersection. And they had a 4 month old in the backseat? I told her to jump in the "car" with me. So it's a dead battery. We jump them and follow them to the battery store. Don't know what happened after that but I was glad that MyRick helped him and his wife. Gotta go now. I'm off to fry some catfish, shrimp, fries. In-Laws are coming over. Yeah!

Yes, I took a picture of it. In all it's slendid glory!

Pirates Ashore

ARRRRRRRG! Maties! I hope all is well with you today but if it's not, just remember: When you're down to nothin', God's up to somethin'! Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Prov 3:5-6.

Miscellaneous Monday

I woke up this mornin' with my mind...stayed on Jesus! Good morning to all. Thank you for stopping by today! We had a church work day on Saturday and got so many things done! We pulled weeds, cleaned flower beds, painted bathrooms (thanks honey buns, Kent, Rickey), mowed, put the finishing touches on doors, decorated the nursery (merci Jahnette), and a ton more. It is a truly beautiful estate. God has been good to http://www.thechurchofhumble.com/ So what's up with the photos below? Weeeeeeeeellll...I found this precious swim cap at http://www.walgreens.com/ and COULD NOT pass it up! (now, say the following as if you were in a transe)... "must get cute swim cap for girls to do a photo shoot in." It was just calling my name and at $1.49 I certainly could not leave it there. C is such a good sport to let me do this. I told her to go get some funky clothes on and this is what she came out with. I love it. But I do love different. Now for the cowboy photos below...that's a whole 'nuther story. Here goes...We went to the park to walk and the girls (who just so happen to be cowgirls at heart(I am too) saw some horses and a ton of horse trailers at the Humble Civic Center...by the arena. So after we walked we drove across the street to investigate. And some Texas oil companies had gotten together to rope. There were 400 teams that were signed up for this event. It is a fundraiser to provide scholarships for kids. We were invited by several of the sponsosres to eat some of the most delicious bar b que ever! We uh, devoured it at lightening speed. The next day we went back to watch the roping. I took a couple of photos. There was this one horse that I could have watched all day. She was a most gorgeous thing. I've never seen one quite like her before. Her coloring and face were absolutely stunning! Oh and with that brown saddle and tack...wheeeeewww! We've all got the fever fer one. One day. One day. Until we meet again...Hey, leave your comments below! I'd like to hear from you!

YEE HAW!

Here she is. GORGEOUS.

Happy Mother's Day

It started out with breakfast in bed...brought to me on a silver tray. Menu: Natural granola (Kashi cereal in an ice cream cone), Kashi granola bar, fresh squeezed orange juice (well, it was Juicy Juice in a juice box but it doesn't have any added sugar!), and a delicious piece of Dove chocolate! Then there were cards, a Starbucks gift card, and tons of "I love you Mom and Happy Mother's Day." And a Happy Mother's Day Ba-be from MyRick along with a sweet hug and kiss from the best husband that I could ever have. Then the church gave me a surprise! Some money to go shopping. Well, I'm putting that towards a new camera so, clothes and shoes will have to wait! They are so very kind and thoughtful. LeAnn hand made my card and it was absolutely gorgeous! Then it was capped of by a delicious Mexican lunch at Villas. Our neighbors own it and it was soooooooo good! And to cap, cap that off, my usual Grande Iced Caramel Machiatto from...well, do I have to say? Happy Mother's Day to all of you fabulous, loving moms. Love your children. They need you. And what a refreshing day it is today here in Texas! No humidity. All sunshine. Cool breeze. You'd think we were in California!

From our Motley Crew to yours...HMD! (happy moth...you got it)

Godiva got a real special treat yesterday. We gave her a huge beef rib bone! Uuuuh, they were so sweet and sticky and had tons of meat on them. Yum! She did not let that thing go all night! Her legs were soaking wet from slobber and drool (see photo). Bella didn't dare attempt to take this one from her! AAAARG!

The Gorge and 2 Ice Creams

Let's go to the gorge and take some pictures.

Moooooooooooooo om.

You can have 2 ice creams!

Okay!

G and Sunny D

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO This was an AWESOME photo shoot!! Garrett was a total natural. He's like 8ft 7 I think...just kidding. He's probably 6' 7". Really. He loves God. Loves his church. Loves basketball. Loves his Mom. Loves his Sunny D. And LOVES basketball! He is the sweetest Senior guy I know with a phenomenal future ahead of him. Go G-Man! Oh and his sweet little Sunny Delight stole my heart! She is darling.I wanted to bring her home with me. I have a thing for Labs. They're the best. Period. We went to downtown Humble for this session. It was so hard for me to pick the best ones because sooooooooo many of them are truly amaaaaaazzing. Monica, I love you! You are sugary sweet and such a tremendous mother to your beautiful children. I love all three of them! Hi Jenna! Hi Ryan! I enjoyed being with you and watching you take in the memories of this day. You won't be able to hold Sunny in your arms in a few short weeks. You so babied her with the cool water and lavish lovins'. Ah-what pampering your grandbabies will be in store for...-uh, one day! Without further ado (whatever) here is the amazing G and SD!

Lovely Weekend

What lovely weather we had this weekend! The breeze was extremely refreshing and the sun was radiant and warm. You couldn't tell that by looking out the window this morning though. It is pouring down rain! We chilled out Saturday by lounging at the park, in our backyard. We grilled chicken, had delish broccoli and cheese, homemade french-fried potatoes, and sweet tea. The McCools came to see us on Friday and we ate bar b q. Whew! That condiment bar was delicious! Ha...MyRick was talking about how good http://www.springcreekbarbeque.com/ was and said "hey, they offer all the condiments you can eat." We just started cracking up. They offer all the sides you can eat. Yah, we made that our running joke all night. Hillarious you are babe. Then on Sunday Adie and I headed to Kingwood for a fundraiser to the non-profit organization AABY. http://www.aaby.com/ Aaby is the Kingwood area's resource for abandoned animals - and more. I set up my beautiful display of photos for new potential clients to feast their eyes on. I was overwhelmed by all of the amazing comments I received on them!!! Thank you! Oh! This is funny...Two older gentlemen came up to the table and one of them said (as he pointed at the photo of Godiva with the hot pink bows in her hair)...look, your ex-wife!) I was laughing on the inside but certainly didn't show it! On a different note...I saw a most beautiful family there and am hoping they contact me to photograph them! They had 4 children. I will have fun with them for sure! I saw many friends and got aquainted with some new ones as well. I enoyed "people watching" as I sat and soaked up the warm sun and invigorating breeze! Adie had so much fun going back and forth to the food and drinks booth. Mom was taken care of and pampered all day. She played, ate, watched, walked around, made crafts and did some people watching herself. There was one dog there that really got our attention. I can't remember his name, but see the mohawk photo below. Okay....enough writings. Onto the photos...

This is Macy. She gives kisses on command!

Photoshop Magic!

Okay...so I am in the process of learning Photoshop and let me tell you IT ROCKS!!! If you are hesitant in scheduling your session...don't be. It will be worth your time and money for coming to someone who is absolutely in love with what she does and creates! You can't get stuff like this from...well...that place that rhymes with: ears or even the studio that sounds like "pop tart" and of course that place that reminds you of that little piece of money that is round and copper in color....yah, that's it. See the difference in my new found skills below...WOW. WOW. WOW. See you soon! -Jamie

from this

TO THIS!!!