William & Tiana E-Session!

I met William & Tiana last year at Chris & Bridgit's wedding, and had a wonderful time talking to them while I grabbed a bite of cake. So I was absolutely delighted when they asked me to photograph their wedding this year! Finally I got to hang out with them again yesterday, when we shot their engagement session. I didn't remember them being this much fun!

Check out all the smiles & laughter in the slideshow!

Tiana mentioned she wanted a lot of color, and I think we were able to deliver:

Rebecca's Photo Session

Rebecca wanted a few fun and natural photos of herself...but she let her fiance Mark sneak into a couple! :) We had fun hanging out in Santana Row on Sunday despite the rain. Thanks for being so much fun to work with!

Check out the slideshow!

Nate and Kristi on a Farm!

Nate and Kristi decided to do something a little different for their engagement session, so we headed to Wilder Ranch just north of Santa Cruz. It has lovely old buildings and the grass is so green this time of year. I wouldn't necessarily say that Nate and Kristi are the types you'd normally see on a farm, so it was extra fun!

As you'll be able to see in the slideshow, there was hardly a dull moment (at least for me)!

Steve and Chrissie Engagement

On Sunday I had a fabulous time with Steve and Chrissie, who will be getting married in April! My favorite part of our session was talking about how they've decided to arrange their special day. I absolutely love it when a couple knows what's important, and isn't afraid to break tradition to make sure that the day is exactly what they want, and the celebration is perfect for their family and friends. It's going to be such a relaxing, special day!

See all the fun in the slideshow!

The kissy photos were my favorites, though I promise I got many that were not lip-locked...but seriously, how cute are these??!

Fabulous in Mountain View

I think I must have a corner on the cute comedian market! Karen Smyth is in the process of updating her website, http://onefunnygirl.com, and asked me to capture some fun photos! How could you not capture fun photos when you're wandering the town with a comedian?

I love my job. :) And you'll love this slideshow!

Happy Valentines Day

It's been a long long time since I've gotten to pass out those cute little perforated cards to my classmates. I'm not entirely certain that my classmates now would appreciate them (software engineers have a reputation of being slightly awkward with that type of thing). Since I'm currently not dating anyone, today isn't particularly mushy for me. So you would think that I wouldn't be a bit excited about today.

Wedding Photography, however, is a business that is all about love. You love each other, I love photography, I love that you love each other, and you love that I love photography! That's a lot of love! I am so grateful for all the wonderful couples who were clients or are upcoming clients. You are each such an inspiration to me, and a gentle reminder of how special relationships are.

It just occured to me that for my 2006 couples, this is likely to be your first Valentines Day as a married couple. My 2007 couples are experiencing their last Valentines Day before becoming Mr. & Mrs. I am so excited for you, and I hope you drink up every bit of magic from the day!!

Have a splendid day!

Exhausting!!

It's exhausting to have this much fun! I've spent the past couple of days meeting and networking with the most amazing photographers. We've had photoshop and networking workshops, held learn-with-the-best photo-shoots, and really just sat and talked about how we can best meet the needs of our clients. I love it!

I'm currently sitting in the conference room, getting ready for a business strategies workshop, but I just had to share some photos with you. :) No slideshow this time, just a couple peeks into what my weekend has been like.

If you're waiting on an email response from me, I apologize, I only have intermitted internet connection (crossing my fingers this posts!) and I'll be getting back to you as soon as possible!

Cheers,
Jillian

(ok, retrying this post)

Photographers Un-Convention

Hi everyone!

Well, I'll miss you lots, but this weekend (Friday - Sunday) I am going to spend time with 100+ of my closest photographer friends! We'll be in Pismo Beach, CA for a self-organized photographers' Un-Convention where we will share knowledge and ideas, shoot a couple of engagement & bridal sessions as a group (imagine having 100 cameras pointed at you!), and just have a ton of fun.

I may be a little difficult to contact this weekend, but please call me if you need anything at all. Don't worry, a little inconvenience this weekend will pay off for you in the long run because I will be a better photographer & business person!

I'll try to update you with photos and stories of the weekend, internet and time permitting. :)

Much love,
Jillian

Kylene and Eric Enagement Shoot!

Yesterday I took a trip up to San Francisco for Eric & Kylene's engagement shoot! I'm excited because this was my first engagement shoot of the year, and we're off to an awesome start!

The day started off sprinkling a bit (a great excuse for a cute umbrella!), but the rain cleared very quickly. Poor Kylene, I knew she'd be a bit cold when I asked Eric to spin her a half turn, but I didn't know Eric would spin her like a Disney-World ride! Kylene, I promise not to reqest any pictures on the wedding day which would require you to be airborn. :)

Kylene & Eric have such vibrant personalities, I just can't wait for 5/20/2007!

See all the fun in the slideshow!

I'm a Domain Name Addict

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am terribly addicted to purchasing domain names. I mean seriously. I now have 19 (most of which are pointed to http://jilliankay.com). This count includes three special new ones I purchased this morning.

(These were purchased in good fun, I promise I don't have a big head, and I'm constantly working to improve my skills and technique....)

http://www.bestphotographerintheworld.com
http://www.bestweddingphotographerintheworld.com
http://www.bestweddingphotographerever.com

I've been laughing all morning. ;) Mom and Dad, thanks for saying I was always the best. Now I have the domain names to prove it.

Clients, if you feel the need to prove to someone you hired the best, just point them to these domain names. (Please put a smiley face in your email, so that they understand it's just for fun too. I fully recognize and am in awe of the talent of the great Ansel Adams & Yervants of the world!)

So what fun domain names do each of you have?

Erika's Headshots!

I love a double-header weekend! Sunday I got to go out in downtown Mountain View with gorgeous singer Erika! She has really awesome eyes, just like the beautiful tiger-eye stone.

One fun place we found was in an alley behind Castro street (future clients beware! i looooove alleys!). It's not every day you find random cool chairs just sitting around outside. Erika, of course, is a trooper for actually sitting on random outdoor chairs. ;-)

Here's the awesome slideshow!

Gary's Headshots

Gary is yet another awesome comedian I've had the pleasure to shoot lately! Today we took a little trip in and around Japantown in downtown San Jose to take a walk and take some headshots!

Ok ladies, Gary is married, but I won't tell anyone if you take a look at his slideshow! :)

The orange background is from a tracker/machinery/thingy we found. Of course, I can't resist climbing up on top of anything to get the right picture...but this time I got axel grease all over my pants and CAMERA!! Big thanks to Gary for helping me get the grease off my camera. I don't know if my face showed it, but I was terrified for a couple mintues. All cleaned out and good now!
















































Thanks Gary!

New Website, New Year!

HI EVERYONE!!!

Well, it's 5am here on the west coast and I've been up all night getting ready for by birthday, which is, I suppose TODAY since it's already 5am. :)

My bestest birthday present to myself (I often get things for myself, I'm spoiled like that) is my brand new website! Big thanks to Tim of Flashmation Studios for creating it for me! Now as this is the first launch of this new site, please please let me know if you have any issues or questions! I'll probably be making some tweaks here and there in the next couple of weeks.

I'm so excited to present to you: http://www.jilliankay.com

(please note that you must have a recent version of flash installed to view the new website.)

Goodnight! (or Good morning for many of you)
Jillian

Jillian's Been MIA!

So sorry for being missing-in-action when it comes to my photo-journal lately! A lot has been going on that I'm really excited about!

First of all, as one of their "presents" to me this year I requested that my mom&dad, brother&sister-in-law, and sister&brother-in-law let me take them out for couples sessions! Now for some families, it might seem weird for your sister to continually ask you to kiss your spouse while she takes pictures....but well, who said our family wasn't weird? (In a great way, of course!)

First I took out my brother Paul and his wife Michelle:













Paul and Michelle are really funny & cute because they basically just act like high-school sweeties all the time! They watch sports and play video games and tease each other and tackle each other and play with their little dog, Buddy! Don't get me wrong, they are both college grads (Aggies!!), and very responsible adults...but he's still my little brother. :) Here, Paul has decided to spontaneously attack Michelle!:













My next victim was my little sister Katie and her husband Thomas:




















Katie and Thomas are cute too, but a little less rowdy. They're both really quirky and creative, and are constantly throwing cute themed dinner parties (Thomas was planning a Zelda party when I was there!) and Katie has really become quite a cook of international cuisine (yummmy). Katie got a brand new shiny red bike from Thomas for Christmas, and she was just tickled pink about it. :)













Finally I got my mom and dad out on the town for a photo-session!:














My siblings and I are so incredibly blessed to have gotten our model of love from our parents. :) They were never shy about how much they loved God, their kids, or each other. One of the reasons I've been able to really pursue any of my dreams (like moving to California, or starting photography) is that I have no fear because, no matter what, I am loved without reason or end. I know that Katie & Thomas and Paul & Michelle (and one day me too) will have awesome relationships because of the model of love that we learned. Thanks Mom & Dad!
















In other news....I'm hoping to launch my new website on January 13th!! That just so happens to be this Saturday. It'll be my birthday gift to myself. :) Happy birthday me! I've got a little work to do before it's ready though, wish me luck!

Happy Holidays!

Dear Friends, Family, & Clients (who are, of course, friends),

Well, 2006 is coming to a close, and I am very fortunate to be able to travel home to visit my family in Texas. Over the next 10 days I'll have limited access to email, but please please don't hesitate to call me if you have any questions, ideas, requests, or just to chat! I absolutely love my family, but I don't mind a break every once in a while. ;)

I want to thank everyone for being a part of one of my personal best years ever! I also want to thank everyone who helped me through the tough, stressful parts of the year. I am so excited about next year, when I'll be graduating from CMU, taking on some challenging (but fun) projects at work, and of course, seeing my wedding and portrait photography business bloom like a garden! Being a photographer is really a dream come true.

Very soon in 2007 I hope to be debuting a new website, new journal style, and new sample albums! Keep checking back for updates.

Even though I didn't anticipate any wedding bookings until the begining of the year, I am already about 50% booked for 2007! Since I will be in school until August and it is very important to me to be sure I have plenty of quality time for each couple, I havelimited availability. If you're thinking about booking...stop thinking and give me a call!

Over the next couple of weeks I hope you enjoy friends, family, good food, love, memories, photographs and the hope of possibilities in the new year. I am so excited to be a part of that. :)

Happy Holidays!
Jillian
408-206-8684