New Blog Address!

After 5.5 years of blogging at this address, I've moved Jaime Lauren Photography's blog to a new home!

Visit www.jaimelaurenphotographyblog.com for all the latest photos, news, creative endeavours. If you're new to my work, feel free to dig through the archives of this blog and catch up on how it all began! For those who've been following my work, THANK YOU for showing up so faithfully...please don't stop!

With that said, see you soon!

Jaime

www.jaimelaurenphotographyblog.com

Sneak Peek {Audrey + Ben's Engagement Shoot}

This past weekend I photographed Audrey and Ben along San Francisco's Embarcadero, and we spent a full two hours ducking into doorways, strolling along the water, and shooting in and amongst various nooks and crannies (actually, what is a 'cranny' anyway?). I've got LOADS more photos to share, but thought I'd save those to celebrate the launch of the new blog (http://jaimelauren.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-blog-in-works.html). I could not resist getting a few favourites online right away however, and while I easily narrowed it down to oh, a good few dozen shots or so, I knew from the get-go that I'd be posting these.

Anyway, I'll expand on the shoot once I put the rest up, but for now you'll have to content yourself with this teaser! Feel free to pass the link along or come check them out on Facebook at Jaime Lauren Photography.

Have a great week everybody and MANY thanks to Audrey and Ben for a shoot that left me grinning from ear to ear well after the shoot had ended! You guys were FABULOUS and I cannot wait for your wedding come this fall!

Jaime

New Blog in the Works!

Hey folks!

I know I've been AWOL over the past week, but I've got a new project brewing...a brand spankin' new blog! Time to get something a little more professional and time to stop wasting time with coding. Forevermore!

Anyway, if you're looking for a way to give your blog a full on overhaul without doling out too much cash and spending too much time, stay tuned for the GREAT REVEAL...coming to blogrolls by the beginning of May (I was going to say May 1st because it sounded so perfect, but who reads blogs on Sundays? Not me anyway...!). Plus this gives me a bit of leeway in case the new blog needs a tweak or two. If you'd like to be included in a little sneak peek shoot me an email and I'll invite you to the Soft Opening. After that, the month of May will feature a few giveaways and other goodies as a way to celebrate both the new blog and my fifth year in business.

Stay tuned and drop me a line if you'd like to be in on the first look at the new blog!

Have a lovely weekend!

Jaime

PS I'm shooting an engagement session for a really fun couple down at the Embarcadero in San Francisco tomorrow so check back next week for shots from our shoot!

Five Fabulous Resources for Wedding + Portrait Photographers

1) Get the Gear.

Just what every photographer needs...more gear right? Well lady-photogs if you find your man-ish camera bag is cramping your style or if you hate the hassle of carrying a handbag AND a camera bag, your chariot awaits. In the form of THE most heavenly camera bag gone incognito, designed and sold by Epiphanie. These luxurious bags are the antithesis of your typical camera bag; Strong and sturdy with enough space to carry one or two camera bodies and a few lenses, plus lots of room for extras, yet so gorgeous they would fool anyone. Will bought me the Ginger (black) a while back and it goes with me everywhere. Now I don't need to decide if my hulk of a camera is coming with me for the day...it just does. Along with the rest of my life. A friend of mine recently called it my Mary Poppins bag...which is really not far from the truth. Oh and one of the best parts: the padded velcro inserts are hot pink! So long man-bag! Anyway, a great find and one you can write off come tax time!

2) Get Inspired.

Photographers will find loads of inspiration at Style Me Pretty, one of the hippest online wedding resources out there. I love the coming together of couples, stylists, designers and photographers whose hard work and boundless creativity never fails to inspire. Need an idea for a shoot? This is a great place to visit just to get those wheels churning. Looking for a way to share your visual inspirations with your clients? Check out the site's Inspiration Boards...create one of your own and get the ball rolling!

3) Get Noticed.

And get down with Tofurious. To-wha? you ask? That's right, Tofurious, the online-home of the legendary photography marketing guru Lawrence Chan. Subscribe to his marketing strategies, install one of his blog themes, or purchase his e-Book "Creative Pricing and Packaging for Photographers". If you're thinking of doing the latter and wonder if it's really worth shelling out forty-ish bucks for, my opinion is that it's well worth it. Unless you're a marketing guru yourself. But if you're looking for some clear-cut answers and strategies to help market your business, it's chock full of great tips. Hey, if it helps get prospective clients turning heads and purchasing your products, it's all worth it right?

4) Get Gorgeous.

I've been on the prowl for some drop-dead gorgeous Photoshop actions over the last while...actions that would give a photograph a bit of a classic vintage look. Nothing crazy, (and believe me there is a LOT of crazy out there) just something that evoked a luxurious, timeless feel. Most of what I was finding left skin tones so grossly altered that it was impossible to focus on the beauty of the subject without being terribly distracted by the garish greens and yellows that overwhelmed the image. And then I stumbled across Red Leaf Boutique, a Canadian company based in British Columbia whose gorgeous site, photos, and actions made me swoon. I snapped up a few action sets and am LOVING the Film Shift Signature Series (only available to a limited number of clients) and the Vintage Soft Tones. This is DEFINITELY my find of the week! While you're visiting the site, check out their blog for stunning portraiture.

5) Get Your Blog On.

We all know that setting up photo layouts and templates for blogs can be a tedious, time-consuming effort. Building eye-catching layouts in photoshop is nay quick, but an east coast company (also from Canada) has put together a fabulous piece of software that's sure to save you precious, precious time--not to mention make your images look goood. Head on over to Storyboard for a taste of what time well spent can look like! Happy Blogging!

Got a favourite find? Share yours below!

Have a great weekend folks!!!

It's Here! {Jose Villa's new photo book}

Before finishing off some of my last photo classes at Emily Carr, one of the things our profs kept insisting upon was the fact that we would miss our 'crits' (in-class critiques that are de rigueur for art students) once we'd left art school. I was somewhat skeptical as I'd spent five years cringing as professors and peers alike picked apart my work. Five years of biting my lip and hoping that the crit would be over fast...somewhat in the fashion of pulling off a Band-Aid if you do it the way I do...rrrippp! But critiques if anything, are not fast in nature, and whole DAYS could be spent reviewing the work of an entire class. Yeah, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to miss those goodies.

*Just a note: I don't think any of us were downright mean to each other in critiquing our work...it's just that artwork comes from someplace deep and personal (unless you threw something together at the last minute which I'm pretty sure we were all guilty of at one time or another) and I found any criticism to be a bit of a blow, even if I knew it was well-meant and dead-on.

Anyway, a year or so after graduating (so, 2008) I found myself craving a good critique. Being self-employed wasn't easy and not having a community of artists to bounce ideas off of was a downright bummer. As I've spent the last several years in a somewhat transient state, finding that sort of community has not been as high on my priority list as I would have liked. Even less so has been seeking out seminars and workshops to attend within my chosen field.

(Okay, I know I'm starting to sound like a total downer, but just wait, it gets better. MUCH better).

So I started collecting books. Books written by photographers who are really, truly making it and not compromising their artistry. Of course now that I'm finally settled I have started building a community of photographers to network with, have found some GREAT photography blogs to follow, and have big plans to attend the 2012 WPPI event in Las Vegas.

But I still collect books. And today, just released and just arrived on MY doorstep was Jose Villa's new book "Fine Art Wedding Photography". It is gorgeous, chock full of great advice, and everything that old, stodgy wedding photography is NOT. {Cue the Hallelujah Chorus right about NOW}.

I was so mesmerized by the book, I totally forgot that I had steelhead fillets baking in the oven for a late lunch. Thankfully I saved them before they dried out. Anyway, back to class critiques and how they got me to this place...the advice of both seasoned professionals and peers is a thing to be treasured, no matter how painful it might be. And while nowadays I'd have to pay Jose Villa a pretty penny to review my work, I only had to pay $19.99 for 159 pages of the man's advice! Not to mention a collection of his glorious images to boot.

If you're a photographer, bride, member of a wedding party, a part of the wedding industry, or just a sentimental schmuck like me, I highly recommend ordering a copy of "Fine Art Wedding Photography" by Jose Villa & Jeff Kent. But especially if you're a wedding photographer...because here's a guy who's proven to be overwhelmingly successful in a very tough market, yet still maintains a beautiful sense of artistry, design, and timelessness. And that is something each of us in the business should seriously take to heart.

Have you checked out Villa's new book? Leave your thoughts below!

On Friday I'll be posting a list of some of my favourite resources for photographers

...stay tuned!