It’s been such an extraordinary spring filled with amazing couples and beautiful weddings. Caitlin & Ryan’s wedding on April 28th at Royal Palms Resort & Spa was no exception. One thing is very clear: the two are stunning. What may not be quite as evident is that they are also beautiful, fun-loving and kind on the inside as well. Caitlin was so calm and serene the whole day, and just excited and happy to be marrying Ryan – who seemed equally joyful to be here, marrying his best friend. These two exude joy and happiness and I think so many of the photos really captured their big, honest smiles and expressions.

Victoria Canada Weddings & Events did a beautiful job -as always – bringing together all of the different pinks, textures and design elements to pull off an elegant and sophisticated look and feel for the day.

Petal Pushers did a beautiful job on the florals – pink peonies and roses.

Linda Wagner, makeup artist extraordinaire, made Caitlin look even more beautiful

Caitlin was so calm and serene…

I loved her Jimmy Choo mary jane peep toe shoes

I love these next two shots that Nicolle captured

Omari hung with the boys and captured his usual great shots of them getting ready.

Pretty paper products by http://mjpaperie.com/

Their first look:

Love this!

Omari got this great one below while I was on the other side:

Love this close up Omari got below…

Nicolle got this great candid right before the ceremony started:

Good angle by Omari below
I love these moments right after the ceremony is over…

Victoria told me she had a dream about how to lay out their place card table (which later became the candy/favor table). It turned out to be such an original and unique way to display their table placecards / seating assignments – and of course the candy favors.

The beautiful ballroomt

Love this shot below that Nicolle captured

Vendors who helped make Caitlin & Ryan’s wedding beautiful and memorable:

Wedding Planner & Event Designer: Victoria Canada Weddings & Events

Venue: Royal Palms Resort & Spa

Photographer: Jennifer Bowen Photography

Cinematographer: Bright Bokeh

Florist: Petal Pusher

Makeup: Linda Wagner

Hair: Amber/The Grateful Head

Band: The Walken’s

Ceremony Musicians: String Serenade

Paper Products: MJ Paperie

Thank you Omari Dickens and Nicolle Moshiri for your help/second shooting!

Caitlin and Ryan – Thank you for being so great to work with and for sharing your day with us. It was such a joy to photograph your beautiful wedding!

Calling all Moms! Win a Free Portrait Session in honor of Mother’s Day 2012!

Tell us the most special Mother’s Day you ever had as a mom and why it was so meaningful, or alternatively you can nominate a deserving Mom if you share why she is so deserving, and you may be our one lucky winner!

RULES/HOW TO ENTER:

1.Go to www.facebook.com/jenniferbowenphotography and “like” our page

2. Tell us there (via private message) about your most special mothers day ever (what you did or why it was so special)-OR- nominate a deserving Mom in 100 words or less. Please message me privately through the business Facebook page (Emails to my personal email account will not count) and also include your name, city/zip code and how many children (and grandchildren) the Mom being entered has. We don’t suggest posting this info to the public wall since you are sharing personal information, nor sending it via Chat, but instead recommend sending your info as a personal message.

3. Submit your entry by the deadline: 9:00 PM Arizona time (midnight EST) on Monday, May 14th.

One lucky winner will be chosen at random to receive a 1 hour portrait session of their choice, including the digital negatives from their session! ($600+ value!)

THE FINE PRINT:

The session must be scheduled and take place before May 31, 2013, be based on mutual availability of me and winner. Session must take place in the Phoenix/Scottsdale metro area and is limited to travel within a 20 mile radius of Photographer’s studio, or possibly take place at photographer’s studio in Old Town Scottsdale, depending on type of session. Session is limited to 1 hour and up to 10 people max.

Please try and schedule 3-4 weeks out from desired timeframe. Please understand that weekends are very limited, especially in September, October, November and March, April & May. Families typically start scheduling holiday portrait time in September for Oct/Nov.

BLACK OUT DATES:

Session cannot be scheduled in July 2012, October 2012 or December 2012.

Beautiful – inside & out. That is how I would best describe Jon and Chelsea. That, and easy-going, fun-loving best friends. I always talk about how amazing my couples are, because I truly work with fun, kind and cool people, and these two are no exception to that. While it was certainly hot on April 21st – record heat for us this time of year in fact – no one complained about it at all. All around, their family and entire wedding party was a relaxed, easy going group who helped made J & C’s wedding day so perfect.

Add to that beautiful wedding decor & event coordination by Some Like it Classic, and the always gorgeous Country Club at DC Ranch, and the day was fantastic all around.

Her Christos/Amsale gown could not have fit her any better. Gorgeous, especially with the buttons that ran up the entire length of the back. And of course Jimmy Choo shoes always make for the perfect pair of bridal heels.

Jon did good – picked that out all on his own ;-)

Omari hung with the boys and got his usual brand of great shots:

Chelsea cracked me (and her Mom) up when she looked down at her phone for a moment and said calmly, “Whoa, my Facebook page is blowing up!” Nothing like a little wedding day to bring about the well wishes :-)

I walked back into the locker room later and found half the girls on the floor doing yoga to calm their nerves. Chelsea has some pretty hilarious friends. Good group of girls here…

Chelsea, you are gorgeous

More shots by Omari below…

Chelsea did a quick first look with her proud Dad before she and Jon saw each other for the first time. Mr. Otto was just beaming – so sweet!

These two below are by Omari

What a great looking group

Loved all their soft, romantic wedding decor…

The courtyard at DC Ranch is one of my favorite’s in the valley. It is so romantic and inviting to dine al fresco under the big tree and stars.

Love this shot that Omari got of the toasts

Vendors to Thank:

Wedding Coordination & Planning: Amina Michelle with Some Like It Classic

Venue: Country Club at DC Ranch

Florist: Petal Pushers

Band: Easton Ashe

Wedding Gown & Shoes: Christos/Amsale and Jimmy Choo

Bridesmaid Gowns: Jasmine/B2

Hair and Makeup: Rolf’s Salon (Tanya Davis) and Heather Wilson Makeup

Cinematography: Serendipity

Photographer: Jennifer Bowen

Thank to Omari Dickens for second shooting the wedding with me! And Jon and Chelsea, thank you for being such a joy to work with and allowing us to capture you gorgeous day. It was our honor!

The first “in-studio” newborn session could not have been with a more perfect, beautiful baby girl. Meet Miss Waverly! Her mom Blair is one of the funniest Twitter’s I know – her tweets are often hilarious and have me literally lol’ing. I was so happy when she called to see if I could photograph Waverly.

These are all 100% natural light photos in the new studio, shot with with my new 5D Mark III – which I am loving. I’ll post a review of that soon.
I have to say that I shot this session in JPEG (I’m normally a RAW shooter) because I wanted to test the files straight out of the camera and how it rendered highlights – and it did a beautiful job. Most of these photos are relatively untouched in post-processing. I think the color files right out of the box are beautiful. And the focusing system is much improved over the 5D Mark II – a camera I never loved. More on that later.

If you are a friend of ours on Facebook, then you already got to see these images a week or two ago. Woot woot! It is coming together nicely and we are almost all settled in. There are still a few things left to do; namely the window displays, something for above the TV (my logo), and some more prints on the walls… not to mention the small decorating details that help a place really feel like “home”, but for the most part we are almost all moved in. And I’m so happy to be here!

I really wrestled with the decision to move into a studio in the first place. I honestly never felt I needed one. Given that I primarly photograph weddings and on-location portrait sessions, I certainly never needed one to shoot out of. I’m also one of those who really liked working from home. Let’s face it: it’s super convenient, can be great for parents who juggle working and raising kids at the same time, great for grabbing a snack out of the fridge when you get hungry (and for me this was big because if you ask anyone who knows me well, they will tell you I am hungry ALL the time). If you can’t get everything done during the day then you can work on it at night after the kids go to be. And working from the house is also generally easier on your bottom line since the overhead costs are lower, you keep your gas costs down and likely your eating out for lunch costs down. Home studios can generally be more profitable for the bottom line than retail space studios can be.

While working from home does have some advantages, I am SO so glad I moved in here. The biggest advantage for me is that its forced me to compartmentalize. When I am here, I’m completely in work mode and more productive (and I thought I was productive at home). There is no dishwasher to unload for a few quick minutes or a quick pile of laundry to throw in between breaks. I like having a place to come to that is all mine (no kids toys to pick up daily). I’m frankly a better Mom working out of here. Now when I go home, there is nothing I can really do from there work wise, so I am completely with the kids and not distracted by the fact that I can get “one more quick thing done” and not saying “Just one more minute guys – let me just finish this and then I’ll play.” It’s been better on our marriage, because there is nothing to pull me away into the office. I used to feel guilt if I didn’t work at night since it was there calling me and waiting for me. Now, whatever doesnt get done during the day has to be outsourced or tackled the next day. My stress level is more under control – huge for me.

(More photos are going up above Kelly’s desk soon).

And it looks more professional to clients – no matter how nice and presentable my home studio meeting space was, it is now a legitimate business (it always has been, but you know what I mean – to clients), and I do like that aspect as well.

Kelly says hi :-)

Over the past couple years I would find myself looking in windows if I walked by a leasable space, dreaming about having my own spot. I was doing it so much that I realized the time had come. Im so glad I made this move. For me, its been a good thing. AND, one of the best parts is that I do now have a small space that I can shoot newborn sessions out of it. I do a handful or two of newborn sessions a year and it can be a crapshoot as far as the lighting goes at clients’ homes. Some have great light and it works out well, others not so much. I recently did my first newborn session out of the studio a week ago and loved shooting it here because I had so much natural light and knew the images would come out bright and happy. Here is the shooting area – though I used several areas. I’ll share that session here on the blog tomorrow so you can see. :-)

So much wonderful natural light in here!

They say that a long-time, strong friendship is the foundation for a marriage that will last. That if you can remain friends with your lover, in such a way that keeps the respect alive and growing, even through all the times you will each change and grow individually, then you stand perhaps the greatest of chances for a long and happy marriage. Jay and Lauren have such a strong friendship at their core, and clearly have a deep and abiding respect for one another, that I think theirs will indeed be a long and happy partnership. I first met these two a couple years ago when I photographed Jay’s sisters’ wedding, so it was such a pleasure to see his side of the family again as they all came together to celebrate this very perfect union. This was my first time shooting a wedding at the Japanese Friendship Garden in downtown Phoenix, but absolutely love that place. It is so peaceful and beautiful in there!

Following are some of my favorites from the day… the girls started things off by getting ready at the Westin Phoenix Downtown:

That is a GOOD friend who will give you a foot rub on your wedding day!

When you don’t have a crochet needle for the hook and eye dress, use a paperclip! (Worked beautifully the girls said.)

Kasia, my frequent second photographer, hung out with Jay and his groomsmen at their home and got some great shots of them getting ready…

As a mom myself, I can only imagine how I will feel when Jordan one days gets married… love this moment with Lauren and her Mom:

I love these images from their first look

And that they took a moment to read to each other personal letters they each had written, sharing a private and touching exchange after their first look (or as part of it):

Then we had a little time for some bride & groom portrait time before the ceremony and photographed the bridal party & family as well….

Although the light was so incredible in there after the ceremony, so I was thankful we had a little more time afterwards for these sweet light photos!

(Above, Kasia: top right and bottom right)

When Lauren was a teenager, she read a book about Judism following a trip to Israel and felt such a strong connection to the world’s oldest religion, that she decided to convert. So it was no surprise that her wedding day would incorporate many of its rich traditions and customs, including signing the Ketubah, encircling each other 7 times and more…

I love this shot & framing that Kasia got below…

I adore this image below of them walking away from the ceremony site…

Custom to Jewish tradition, after the ceremony Jay and Lauren shared a few private moments alone honoring each other and the vows they had just exchanged. I love this photo of them right after they left the tea house from their alone time…

I dont know who this woman below is, but what I do know, based on this exchange is that there is a tremendous amount of love and respect between these two. I’m glad Kasia and I were both on hand to get the different angles from their touching moment together… (Kasia, bottom right)

After the ceremony, all of the guests were transported over to the Lath House at Heritage Square for dinner, dancing and the reception…

And of course, the Hora!

A touching first dance with Lauren and her father…

Jay and Lauren – thank you for sharing your day with us and allowing us to capture it for you! You two make an absolutely wonderful couple!

Vendors to thank for helping make their wedding so beautiful and successful:

Whitney and Sean married each other two short weeks ago at the exclusive Paradise Valley County Club on a gorgeous day. These two are so fun loving with each other, and laugh so easily together, that they are just a joy to be around. I LOVE weddings with an outdoor reception following their ceremony and their’s was beautiful – so elegant and timeless. It allows for some great first dance photos – not to mention the details – too :-)

Here are some of my favorites from the day:

Their touching first look:

Omari Dicken’s second shot with me and got some great ones of the guys (above prep photos of Sean too):

Gorgeous group of girls!

And loved these little guys – their nephews:

Seriously adorable:

Whitney looked gorgeous:

Whitney’s nephew adores her… he kept coming back for hugs… and more hugs… and more hugs.

Their outdoor reception. Event decor by White House Design Studio.

Love, love this one below

After the toasts, everyone moved into the ballroom for the after-party and dancing with my favorite wedding band “Instant Classics” and late night candy table and comfort snacks – like grilled cheese sandwiches (yum!)

Thank you to all of the wonderful vendors who made this wedding so beautiful:

Venue: Paradise Valley Country Club
Wedding Planner: Patty King/I Do I Do Wedding Specialists
Florist & Event Decor: Jenny Ellis/White House Design Studio
Photographer: Jennifer Bowen Photography
Videographer: Serendipity Videography (Click here to see the wedding trailer they did for this wedding)
Band: The Instant Classics
Ceremony Music: Apperson Strings
Lighting: Classic Party Rentals
Gown: Priscilla of Boston
Tuxedo: Men’s Warehouse

Whitney and Sean, I wish you both a lifetime of laughter, joy and success. You guys were such a pleasure to work with!

To see the full blog post of mine back from last November, please click here.

A few weeks ago, I had the honor to travel up to San Francisco to photograph Cristina and Dan’s engagement session. It is the city where they live and work and play, so they really wanted some images to capture who they are right now, and at this stage in their lives. It was an absolute joy to spend the day with them in that gorgeous city by the bay and get to know them more as individuals and as a couple. They are getting married here in Paradise Valley in just a couple short months and I look so forward photographing their wedding. Some of my favorites from the day:

I think this might be one of my new all time favorites:

Cameron and Daniel are getting married in South Carolina this winter but wanted to take some engagement session pictures here in Scottsdale where they currently live. We had a fun session and I think got some cute images of them :-)

I’m trying to dust off the cobwebs on this blog.

For some reason, the backend of this WordPress blog will now only load 3 images at a time before timing out. Despite a few people looking into it, we cant figure out why the media uploader keeps crashing. If there are any WordPress guru’s out there willing to help, I will take any input I can get :-) Suffice to say, we might be posting less photos per post in the weeks to come until we can get it figured out. Coupled with our moving into our new studio (Yeah! We are officially now fully in  - photos to come soon…), some travel, sick kids and the start of wedding season, it’s been a busy March. But we do have lots of great stuff in the coffers, so you should see some new activity on this thing starting about… now.

I had such a great time with Katie and Emory at their recent engagement session, who are getting married this fall here in Paradise Valley. They are gorgeous, funny, so sweet and have a blast together, so we really had a fun session.

Nicky and Chris were married at the end of January at St. Mary’s Basicalla in Phoenix with the party and tented reception that followed at the Wigwam Resort & Spa in west Phoenix. Chris, who is a professional baseball player, grew up visiting the Wigwam each year with his family, so the venue had special meaning to him. Their wedding day was a clear reflection of who these two are: fun, full of life and laughter, beautiful, and each with close knit relationships with their friends & family. The day itself came off without a hitch, in large part to Cicely Rocha-Miller and her excellent team from Life Design Event Planning. Everything was easy going, gorgeous and well planned out.

Here are some favorites from the day, with all the vendors who helped make this day so perfect noted below.

Event Coordination: Life Design Event Planning
Ceremony Location: St. Mary’s Basilica
Reception Location: Wigwam Resort
Floral: Events by Showstoppers
Hair: Lisa Pontillo
Make up: Adriana Fontes
Band: Shining Star Band
Photobooth: Arizona Photobooth
Cake: Classic Cakes and Confections
Rentals: Classic Party Rentals
Cocktail Hour Music: Simply Three

Last month my rockstar Associate Jenny Bishop photographed Erin and Iain’s wedding at a beautiful 1930′s Spanish-style home in the Arcadia area of Phoenix, Arizona. Amazingly, Erin planned the entire wedding in about one months time – all the way from Canada. Her vision was that she wanted her and Iain’s wedding to feel more like an intimate dinner party and the lovely home they chose definitely provided the perfect setting to achieve her wish. Fifty of their closest friends and family watched as the two exchanged vows in the home’s beautiful courtyard and then celebrated the rest of the night with an amazingly delicious dinner at Maestro’s City Hall.

Due to their short engagement, Erin had to buy a wedding gown off the rack in a size that was at least 5 sizes too big and was engulfed in toile. After some careful redesigning on her part (Erin works in retail and design) the final dress was absolutely gorgeous and fit her perfectly. Love the simple, classic elegance of Erin’s hair and dress with the setting of the vintage home.

Erin sharing a very touching first look with her Dad – with whom she is very close.

Another unique twist to Erin and Iain’s wedding was that Erin hadn’t seen her wedding ring until Iain actually put it on her finger during the ceremony. The ring was designed to look like a Tiffany’s engagement ring and was absolutely stunning and it was clear that Erin loved it!

After the ceremony and cocktail hour everyone headed over to Maestro’s City Hall where Erin and Iain had reserved a room to treat their family and friends to a delicious dinner. We have photographed quite a few weddings for Canadian clients and have come to love the tradition of having one of their guests be the MC for the night. It adds a very personal touch to the evening and usually involves a lot of jokes, laughter and heartfelt emotion.

Jenny loved photographing Erin and Iain’s wedding. In her own words: “Congratulations to Erin and Iain! Thank you so much for allowing me to photograph your wedding and for truly making me feel like a part of your extended family for the day! You were both amazing to work with and I’m so glad to have met you! And I’m still convinced that Erin and I somehow know each other from the past and are long-lost BFF’s!! I wish you both all the happiness in the world!”

Jay and Lauren are getting married this March and I’m so excited for their wedding. First because they are such a great couple, and second because their wedding & reception at are two places I have not shot at before and I love shooting in new places! (Actually that’s not technically true: their reception is at Heritage Square in downtown Phoenix and I have shot down there lots of times, including for this engagement session, however I have not photographed an actual wedding on the property so that makes it new to me in that sense :-) I first met Jay at his sister Meredith’s wedding to Stan back in 2010 and now I’m so excited to work with he and Lauren!

After we left Heritage Square, we went over to Scottsdale to a unique little spot for part 2…

I love Lauren’s green coat and her look in the photo.

My business partner & workshop co-host Kim and I announced back a few months ago that we changed the name of our workshop from Create Better Images Photography Workshops to Refocused Photography Workshops. We think the name better illustrates what we do and teach overall. Below you can read more about these workshops, including how to register. But if you hurry over to our Facebook page and “like us” – you’ll find a special coupon code inside that will save you some booku-bucks off the registration cost.

1. The Beginner Workshop is 3-hour interactive, hands-on class where we teach new SLR camera owners how to get the most out of their camera. Over the years we have had so many requests from people who had just bought new cameras with interchangeable lenses how to actually use them, or get the most out of them. So in 2008, Kim and I decided to start a workshop to show people how to take those cameras off the automatic setting and shoot a little more creatively by teaching the fundamentals of photography. Once you understand how light, shutter speed and aperture interrelate, you can pick up any camera with any lens and effectively manipulate the light to capture a look that you may want.

It’s about more than just asking “What button do I put my camera on?” – its about understanding the very core of photography. Other areas we talk about it are what  lenses will produce what types of images (ie, if you want a lot of “background blur” so your subject really stands out and pops), how to find great light in and around your home, creative composition, how to turn off the automatic flash that always pops up if you want images that have more feeling and depth, how to adjust your settings to photograph in manual mode (and how to get to manual mode in the first place). Plus much more. Click here to get all the nitty gritty details and find out how to register!

2. The Intermediate/Advanced Workshop: Now aptly named the One Day Intensive, this workshop is a 9 hour very hands on and interactive learning experience. We have now taught over 100 photographers around the US, many of whom have gone on to become successful and busy photographers. Some had already started businesses and were stuck on certain concepts or styles of shooting, others were just branching out and wanted a roadmap on how to create the best images possible with the best gear possible.

• Several tips for lighting, creative composition, and posing
• How to work with subjects and clients before, during and after the shoot
• How to speed up your digital workflow and post-process more efficiently
• Recipes for successful portrait making
• (NEW) MARKETING (branding, networking, getting published, getting your name out there, setting yourself apart, social media, and more)
• (NEW) THE BUSINESS OF PHOTOGRAPHY (goal setting, effective workflow, post-processing, pricing your products and services for profit, paying taxes, setting up your company more)
• (NEW) ALBUM DESIGN (tips for fast and efficient album design, companies to use, and more)
• How to apply many of these concepts to a LIVE MODEL SHOOT!
• In addition, after the live model shoot, you will have the opportunity to process your images via Adobe Lightroom 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!

Click here to read more and register for this awesome workshop!

CASTING CALL!

For our live model shoot, we are looking for an engaged or married couple!

Are you a couple that recently got married but wish you had more fun/urban/trendy magazine style pictures of you? Or maybe you are just a super-cute engaged (or non-engaged) couple and want some new and fun images? Either way, this is your chance to get some free images by serving as models for a photography workshop!

Couples must submit a few low-res images of themselves (close up and full length if you have one – snapshots are fine) as well as the attire they plan to wear for the shoot. We need couples who are very comfortable in front of the camera and affectionate with one another.

The session will last approximately 45-60 minutes and be in Mesa on Saturday, Feb 18th in the late afternoon. We will provide more details on when, where and what to wear once you are confirmed as a model. You just need to be available on that date between the times of approx 4:00-6:15 PM.

To apply as a model, please email 2 low resolution images of you both together to info@refocusedworkshops.com