Me and my 3 loves at The Polar Express a few weekends ago (image taken by a friend):

Studio Coordinator Kelly Gill and her beautiful family (we’ll share their c-u-t-e family session on the blog soon after holidays):

Associate Photographer Jenny Bishop below and her adorable family (image taken by their family on Thanksgiving Day):

Intern/Newly Hired Assistant Nicolle Rein Moshiri and her equally adorable family (image by family friend):

And last but not least, announcing our newest associate to join the JBP team Suzanne Searle and her beautiful boys :-)

I consider myself very blessed to have such an amazing team and appreciate all that they do!

We just wanted to take a moment to let you know that we will resume the normal blog publishing schedule soon (with some ah-ma-zing weddings & adorable family photos) and provide you with some deadlines for when all orders need to be in:

Print Enlargement Orders: December 14th

Disc of Images: Dec 14

Holiday Cards: Dec 9 (these will be drop shipped directly to you)

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New Portrait Bookings: We are booked for all shoots through the end of the year now and will be accepting new session bookings starting in January 2012. Jennifer Bowen has a few limited openings still in January (all 4 weekends are already booked), but is more open in February. Associate Jenny Bishop will have some session slots available that can be reserved in January and February. Plus we will be announcing a new associate who is joining the team as well soon! {For planning purposes, please keep in mind that we typically book sessions 1-3 weeks out in the early part of the year.}

New Wedding Bookings: Yeah for all the Christmas proposals coming! If you are considering us for your wedding photography, we would love to hear from you. Please know that we are mainly accepting fall 2012 weddings. Jennifer Bowen is fairly booked up March-May, however Jenny & Suzanne (stay tuned!) will have available spring dates. Be sure to check with us for your specific date to see who is available. When contacting us, we need to know your city & state, date and venue if you know it, as well as any other pertinent details about your wedding. We share most of information and pricing via consultations, either in person or over the phone, so we do encourage setting up a time to meet so we can hear more about your wedding. For more FAQ about our wedding photography, please click here.

Studio Holiday Hours: Please know the studio will be closed December 18-January 1 for a much needed break with our families. I try to take off 2 weeks every year after our crazy fall season to recharge, rest and spend quality time with my husband and kids so that I am fresh and ready to go for the new year ahead. I will have some access to email during this time, but we do appreciate your patience with our slower response times.

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Happy Holidays!

Jennifer Bowen Photography

I’m over the moon that Lisa and Ben’s amazing Antibes, France wedding was selected as a feature for the most recent issue of Destination I Do Magazine. It’s been one of my goals to be published in a national destination wedding publication and I’m really honored to be included in this one. It is available on new stands now and is an indispensable resource for couples planning destination weddings. There are so many great tips, as well as tons of images from real weddings around the world, in each issue to help couples pull off their dream wedding as smoothly as possible.

For example, Lisa shared some of her specific challenges in planning her wedding from so far away. She spoke of the occasional communication breakdowns because of the custom and language differences (and she even speaks fluent French!) and how having a wedding planner really helped her keep her sanity at times. I can imagine that if I were planning a destination wedding, hiring a local planner who knows the area would be my #1 item on my checklist as well.

It’s so neat for me to see these images in print because it was such a special wedding for my husband and I to photograph. We had such a blast with Lisa & Ben – who by the way just welcomed their first baby, a beautiful daughter! I only wish they didnt live so far away so I could see & photograph her :-)

If you would like to see even more images from their destination wedding in Cote d’Azur region in the south of France, please click here.

Ava Rose Designs is launching their Spring/Summer line at an open house on April 14th and 15th at 8114 E. Del Joya Dr in Scottsdale. Besides shopping the new Ava Rose line, you can also browse children’s clothing and hair accessories from Bellabambina and jewelry from Stella and Dot’s new spring line.

In addition to clothing, Ava Rose Designs offers baby gifts, blankets, bibs, burps, tote bags and more in coordinating fabrics and color palettes.

Two bonuses to attending the Ava Rose Designs Open House that you should know about:

-Just for attending, you will have a chance to win a $25 Ava Rose Designs gift certificate

- Friday’s Open House will also include Fabulous Faces (Botox, Juvederm, Latisse, etc) from 12-3

Well good news, we still have a few seats left for the beginner and intermediate photography workshops coming up in 2 weeks! Come learn how to use those fancy new cameras or lenses you may have bought or received over the holidays. Workshops are hosted by Kimberly Jarman and Jennifer Bowen, co-owners of Create Better Images® Photography Workshops

BEGINNER PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

What you will learn:
The fundamentals of photography including ISO, aperture and shutter speed
How to apply these fundamentals to the process of shooting your camera manually
Equipment & lens tips: which lenses give you the most bang for your buck
How to turn off your flash and get better results
How to work with natural light for better photos, and where to find it.
How to take more creative photos
Post-processing ideas to make your images really pop
Time for hands-on practice and Q&A

When:
Thursday, January 20, 2011
6:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Registration begins at 5:30 PM

Where:
Create Better Images Headquarters
hosted in the Kimberly Jarman Photography Studio
126 W. Main St. Mesa, AZ 85201

Cost:
$189

How to Register:
Click this link to sign up!

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INTERMEDIATE PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

What you will learn:
How to shoot manually and nail your exposure
Several tips for lighting, creative composition, and posing
How to work with subjects (clients!) before, during and after the shoot
How to speed up your digital workflow and post-process more efficiently
Tips to make your images really pop
How to work with off camera flash
And much more!

Plus we will put all of this know-how to work with a 2 hour LIVE MODEL SHOOT!
After the live model shoot, you will have the opportunity to process your images via Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop with Jennifer and Kim and then share them with the class. Both will offer hand-on guidance, and share useful tips for working with these programs. Lastly, we’ll have open Q&A time!

When:
Saturday, January 22, 2011
1:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Registration begins at 12:30 PM

Where:
Create Better Images Headquarters
hosted in the Kimberly Jarman Photography Studio
126 W. Main St. Mesa, AZ 85201

Cost:
$379

How to Register:
Click this link to sign up!

Wanna see Kim and Jennifer in action and hear more from attendees? Watch this fun video put together by Serendipty Videography.

I was so happy to see that Julie & Chad’s wedding from this past spring was recently featured on the popular blog DIY Bride! There are so many great ideas on this blog for brides who like to conceptualize and execute many of their own wedding details. Julie was responsible for nearly every aspect of her event decor and did a fantastic job creating a very avant garde, eclectic and romantic feel. They had a complete candlelight ceremony and I loved her entry way table that greeted guests into her after-party reception. You can see many more details here.

It’s that time of year again, holiday portrait time! The busiest time of year for those of us photographers in Arizona who shoot both weddings and portraits because it also happens to be wedding high season. So without further ado, following is the list of dates and times that we have available for family portrait sittings this fall, as well as pricing and session details.

To sign up for session, please email us with your desired date and time preference and we will send over a contract. At that time, there will also be a $100 deposit collected to hold your spot.

** 2010 MINI SESSIONS **

PRICING:

$225 for owner/lead photographer Jennifer Bowen

$200 for associate photographer Jenny Bishop

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25 Minute Mini Session includes:

• Mix of posed and natural family shots
• Individual shots of children if desired, mix of posed/natural depending on age
• Approx 25-50 final edited images posted to an online gallery for you to proof and order ala carte prints
• One (1) medium-resolution JPEG digital image of your choice, that will be emailed to you for your personal use or holiday cards.

PLUS a $25 credit that you can use towards mini gift books, image discs or holiday cards.

• Mini Gift Books are (3) for $150 (see below)
• Mini Session Image Discs (All images from session, printable up to 8×10 with copyright release.) $325 (special pricing for (1) mini sessions. Back to back session discs are $400.)
• Holiday Cards – Pricing starts at $2.75/card. Click here for some examples of last years cards. We will post info and images of 2010 cards soon.

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AVAILABLE DATES & TIMES for October/November 2010

There will only be 3-5 sessions available per day, so please reserve your spot early. All sessions are available on a first come, first serve basis, so please contact me as soon as possible to reserve your spot!

PHOTOGRAPHER: JENNIFER BOWEN
Cost Per Session: $225
(Back to back full hour sessions are $350)

Sunday, November 21
Location: Old Town Scottsdale

3:00-3:25 PM- booked
3:30-3:55 PM – booked
4:00-4:25 PM- booked
4:30-4:55 PM -booked
5:00-5:30 PM- booked

Tuesday, Nov 23
Location TBD

4:00-4:25 PM – booked

4:30-4:55 PM – booked

5:00-5:30 PM – booked

Sunday, November 28 (Thanksgiving Weekend)
Location: DC Ranch/Market Street area

3:00-3:25 PM – booked
3:30-3:55 PM- booked
4:00-4:25 PM- booked
4:30-4:55 PM – booked
5:00-5:30 PM – booked

PHOTOGRAPHER: JENNY BISHOP, ASSOCIATE PHOTOGRAPHER
Cost Per Session: $200
(Back to back full hour sessions are $300)
We have added more session slots for Jenny!

Saturday, November 20th
Location: Marriott Desert Ridge
4:00-4:25 PM – BOOKED
4:30-4:55 PM – BOOKED
5:00-5:30 PM

Sunday, November 28
Location: Old Town Scottsdale
4:00-4:25 PM
4:30-4:55 PM
5:00-5:30 PM

Please email us to reserve your spot!

Mini Session Details/FAQ:

• Mini sessions last 25 minutes and are ideal for smaller families or updated portraits of the kids – perfect for getting the latest family picture for your holiday cards! We can actually take quite a few shots in that time frame and try to get as many posed and natural looking shots as possible in that time frame. We move quickly, so please ensure you arrive 10 minutes before you session starts so we can get going on time. We cannot make up time on the backend.
• Mini sessions are limited to families of 5 or smaller. If you have a larger family, we recommend you book a full hour session so we can accomplish all the different shots typically needed for larger families.
• Sessions are booked on a first come, first serve basis. All bookings do require a $100 deposit to hold your spot. The balance will be collected via credit card before your session or by check at your session. When you book, we will send you a contract, more details, tips for what to wear and shoot location and parking details.
• The session will include one (1) medium resolution image of your choice that we will email to you after you choose it from your gallery. Medium res files can be printed up to 8×10 but not any larger, pixelation will occur. The session also includes a $25 credit that you can apply towards the entire disc from your session (printable files for personal use up to 8×10 in size), holiday cards, or other unique gift products such as these perfect mini accordion gift books. They come 3 to a pack (for $150) and make the perfect gift for grandparents, aunt/uncles and more!

Ready to reserve your spot? Please just send us an email with your desired date and time and we’ll get you scheduled! Hope to see you again this year!

You can also see much more from this vineyard wedding by viewing their full wedding album here.

The fantastic team of vendors from Traci & Ryan’s wedding include:

Wedding Planner: Dee Merz
Videography: Thomas Hughes Productions
Ceremony & Reception Site: Beaulieu Gardens
Catering: Paula LeDuc
Flowers: Grant & Company
Cake: Perfect Endings
Band/Live Music: Take Two
Wedding Gown: Liancarlo from Marina Morrison
Bridesmaids: Priscilla of Boston
Hair and Makeup: The Dream Team
Transportation/Car: Napa Valley Transportation
Favor Donations: Halo Foundation

Image storyboard created by Junebug Weddings.