Mini-Session Marathon: Sunday, September 9th

I absolutely love shooting portraits, and after last week's family session, I realized how few I've gotten to do lately! That's because I love weddings even more....and I've had to schedule so very few portraits in order to make the most time for my wedding clients. With my normal sessions (1-2 hours at sunset), I can only do one a day! Well, with only a few evenings left available this year, I wanted to do something special to fit in more portraits.

So I thought I'd set up a day do to "mini-sessions": Half-hour sessions with individuals in a single location (downtown San Jose) . So this September 9th I have 10 slots lined up! I'm hoping that the price and timing will make these sessions available to people who have been putting it off until now.

These sessions would be great for anyone needing to start a basic headshot portfolio or make a quick update to one. They would also be great for anyone wanting to put their best face forward on a dating site or myspace! Need to finally send mom a photo to replace your Senior photo from a decade ago? What about that personal or professional website that still has that photo of you in your grey cube? There are a million reasons to need a professional portrait. Mostly, though, it's just fun!!

Please go HERE for more information!! Registration is first come/first serve: http://jilliankay.com/jkmini.html

The Izatt Family!

Well, it's always a little nerve-wrecking to photograph someone who's photography you greatly admire!! Dustin Izatt, of Digital Izatt Photography and his family (wife Tiffany, daughters Kyleigh & Madison, and new baby boy Cameron) are on a California vacation from Utah and allowed me to take some family portraits.

Of course, I was tickled pink to see Tiffany and Dustin again and finally get to meet the kiddos! We photographed a little in the city, and then headed out to Baker's Beach for the sunset.

Thanks so much for sharing your family with me, I had so much fun!! Oh, and thank you for the delicious (and entertaining) dinner afterwards...I think I was too distracted talking to the girls to really say it last night. You have a really delightful family, and I hope to see you in January!


Here are all my favorites in a slideshow!

What's going on?!

Many of you may have realized by now it's taking just a tad longer to answer email and get things in the mail than normal. :) Please accept my sincerest apologies! Nothing big is going on, it's just all the little things that add up...

1. Tuesday I graduated from my company's leadership development program! It is a 3 year program, which involves 3 leadership conferences, community service, technical curriculum, rotational assignments, etc. For graduation we had a luncheon (that lasted 3 hours!)...so now I'm a little behind at work. (I think that's borderline irony.)

2. At work, we have a demonstration coming up soon, and our team keeps shrinking which means that I'm doing more and more work...I've been working a bit later than normal to keep up, but I think we're going to make it!

3. My master's degree will be done in less than 20 days! Wow! I'm so excited. I won't be going to graduation. I think that's part of my celebration....having the choice NOT to go to campus! LOL. Unfortunately that also means it's crunch time, and I'm frantically putting together my final individual presentation in addition to finishing up the team activities for my outsourcing class. (I'm team lead right now, so I can't slack off.)

4. Wedding season just peaked!! Most of my weddings this year were from late May through early July...so those are all shot now. (*sigh*, it was so much fun, I'm a little sad the rush is over!) Now the real work begins, as I definitely put more time in after each wedding to get the images edited & album created. So I've got a lot of editing to do! I'll also be working with couples on their albums, sending out DVDs, and even booking couples for 2008!


On top of all of that, I had a little stomach bug (or something) over the weekend so I lost a little bit of time while lying on the floor moaning. :) I'm all better now, though. I've been coping by keeping my instant messenger off, making copious to-do lists, adjusting my sleep schedule, avoiding the social scene, and taking a walk when I can to help keep me relaxed and focused. :)

So, it's a very exciting time for me right now with so very many of my dreams coming to fruition. Please accept my sincerest apologies for any delay, and know that my clients are still my very top priority. Tonight is "dvd night"...and I'll be making as many as I can to put in the mail tomorrow morning. I might even watch a dvd while I do it. :)

Off to class now! :)

Kim & Ben!

Ben is a coworker and friend of mine, and it's been wonderful to get to know Kim over the past year. I was ever so excited to get to photograph their wedding on Saturday!

It's way late (4am), so I'll keep my normal chatter short, but I think the images speak volumes anyway.

Thank you both soooo much for an incredible day, it was an awesome honor to witness your marriage, both as a photographer and as a friend. Kim, your dress was indeed prettier than any other bride that day. :) Ben, I don't think you really need to worry about the competition from the muscle man...

Slideshow here!

OK, so you guys know me well enough by now to know that when I'm tired...I'm terrible at picking favorites...so here are a ton! I hope it's not to many for your internet connection to handle. (oh, and funny story about the muscle man all the way at the bottom!)































Congratulations!

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So we're walking in the park doing a few portraits....and we all stop to look and wonder..."Why on earth is that man orange?!" We determine that he is one of many body builders in the park doing amateur body building portfolio shots, and I jokingly mention "hey you could go take a photograph with him!" To my surprise, Kim said "Sure!".

Not really knowing what to say, and being a bit tired, I just went up to the man and said (not kidding, I actually said this!) "We like your body, can my bride take a photo with you?"

He looked at me stunned for a minute, and then his friend said "yeah!", and he said "awesome!" and we spent about 90 seconds with him doing different poses. It was hilarious, but I still do not know what possessed me to say "We like your body." I guess that's a compliment to a body builder though, so I'm not ashamed.

07/07/07

Robert & Elizabeth were married this past Saturday...the hottest wedding day of the century! The "luckiest" day was shared by 38,000 couples around the world...but I got to photograph the best one!

Here's the incredible (if a tad long) slideshow!

And my favorites...


Champagne! The guys were hilarious as they tried to open a bottle that wasn't cooperating...



























Elizabeth was, of course, absolutely stunning:





























St. Ambrose Church is INCREDIBLE:













As you can see, Rob & Elizabeth don't actually need any luck. :)

6 hours left in the blog-a-thon!

And they are givin away a Whale watching trip! Go here for more details: http://throughtheireyesafrica.typepad.com/blog/

(Confused? See the previous entry. )

Post 100 - For a Good Cause

Yay! So this is my 100th blog post! I couldn't be happier than to use it for a wonderful cause: the Through Their Eyes project.






A fellow photographer is holding a special blogathon today for his "Through Their Eyes" Africa project. This project benefits areas of Africa where it seems most or all adults have died (generally of aids and malaria) and the children are left with little aid. His team of influencial photographers will be partnering with Global Hope Network International (GHNI) in their aid trips, and will be working to give people in these areas a voice.

The photographers will provide members of the villages with equipment and training so that they may photograph their lives, and give them a global voice to tell the world about their community, and the conditions they face. The photographs will be collected and exhibited around the world, in order to bring awareness and relief on a scale that could not be accomplished with one organization.

Through photography, the people will have a way to communicate their lives, their needs, their culture, and their joys...without the need for a translator.

This project can't move forward without funding. To learn more & to donate, please visit:

www.throughtheireyesafrica.typepad.com
Through Their Eyes Website

Keep an eye out on the Through Their Eyes blog, they'll be posting once an hour every hour for the next 24 hours. There will be some special surprises & giveaways, so check back often!

Matt & Ligaya E-Session!

I love engagement sessions! Unfortunately, this was my last e-session with 2007 couples, so I was a little sad. But luckily I'm starting to book for 2008, so it shouldn't be too long!

Ligaya & Matt wanted engagement photos that really reflected who they are and what they love to do, and I think they came up with some great ways to show it! I love all the ideas they had!

See all the fun in the slideshow....


First we took a few photos at Fort Mason, which has awesome red doors everywhere!























Then we headed up to the park with this oh-so-cute (but sporty) bike for two!! I've never seen one of those in real life, so it was really awesome. They went pretty fast!















After the bike ride, they relaxed with a little wine...




















Then down to Aquatic Park, where Matt loves to swim.

































Finally headed to Buena Vista Cafe for Irish Coffee!





















These are two of my favorite images ever...