Never Give up

Jennifer Roberts has been married to the love of her life for 6 years, She first met her prince charming  while attending NCTC working toward her associates degree in their nursing program.  A few major health set backs and the death of her grandfather didn't make her give up on her dreams.  Heartbroken and battling illness she decided it was time for a change.

In December of 2015 she decided "I'm stepping up my game" and went for a tour of West Coast University in Dallas.  Finances were tough but with the support of her family she made her dream a reality  "I seriously could never thank them enough" she says.

Jennifer put her barrel racing on the back burner while furthering her professional career.  She bred her mare while attending college and now has two horses, truck and trailer and plans to start hauling again after passing her boards.  

She is the proud mother of three amazing children, like all mom's, she says "They keep me hopping".  Along with all of that, if that's not enough, she also runs a quail business, she raises them to sell and to provide meat for her family

Her and her husband are avid outdoors people, they love to fish and kayak; she will tell you "Don't give up on your dreams"  There are no obstacles too tall or too wide, she fought through depression, wanting to quit, lashing out at the people closest to her but that never stopped her.

God is faithful, he never waivers and neither do the people that truly love you.

Don't give up on your Dreams!  Chase them and Chase them with all your strength

www.JoHPhotography.com

Benefit Barrel Races

On December 15, 2018 I had the pleasure of photographing the first Toys for Tots barrel race in Mineral Wells for Trudy Holloway.  I asked how this race came about because I felt it was such a great benefit people needed to hear about it.

She tells me that a friend approached her saying there wasn't a benefit for Toys for Tots in their area so they checked with Lucky B Arena in Mineral Wells Texas to see if the date was open to plan a race.

Luck would happen that the date was open and Colby Oliver, the arena manager, made sure nothing was booked on that day so the First Annual Toys for Tots could be held at their location.  Races like this cannot be held with just a few volunteers, Trudy enlisted her mother Alice Holloways help to run the books to make sure she could concentrate on other things happening that day.  Bryson Bazzell was running the back gate to make sure everyone was ready and in on time, Brylynn Bazzell was assigned the important task of working the toy donations

So many great volunteers stepped up to help, Trey Bazzell, his kids, and James Daniel to name a few.  The first race was a huge success with added money, gift certificates as gifts and 72 runners came out in full force, donating gifts to help those less fortunate.  Three Large boxes and 9 gift cards were taken to the donation location of Farmers Insurance in Mineral Wells.  Trudy would love to appreciate the amazing sponsors of this great benefit race.

N Rock Solutions, Inc

Rokus Welding

Scott Fenner Custom Trim & Remodel

Tarq'd Diesel

G's Gas & Grocery

Rocking Star Performance Horses

All State Plywood & Lumber

Stay tuned for another race next year and don't forget every unwrapped toy can make a difference

www.JoHPhotography.com 

Kylee Scribner Senior 2019

When we started to talk about this senior session, Texas was warm, green, perfect weather,  Fast forward a month and we have no leaves on the trees, wet weather and 40 degree temperatures in North Central Texas.  That didn't stop Senior Kylee Scribner from taking off her socks and shoes and going barefoot this entire cold day.

Kylee, senior rep for Jo H Photography, is one of those outstanding young ladies that works so hard on anything that she sets her mind too.

Kylee no longer competes in high school sports such as basketball and softball, she focuses her attentions to her favorite sport of Rodeo.  She is a member of the Azle Rodeo Team and plans to attend Tarleton University to receive her masters in Business and Marketing as well as participate on the Rodeo Team.

Her hobbies are attending youth groups on Wednesday nights and riding horses.  She will graduate High School with 50 college credits and a 102.45 GPHA and is ranked int he top 3% of her class.

Its been my honor to know this young lady and have her represent Jo H Photography

www.JoHPhotography.com to book your session

Professional Hair and Makeup- Madd Glam

Madison Senior 2019

Madison is just like so many young ladies in the North Central Texas area, she's busy with rodeo, barrel racing, and numerous other activities.  I had the pleasure of capturing her senior 2019 photos the past few weeks and I can't believe she's already grown and about to finish high school

She's a competitive barrel racer in our area and along with this amazing sport she also competes in pole bending and in High school sports she plays basketball.  When she's not busy riding and competing in sports she helps her parents out at their restaurant New York Sub-Way.  What little time she has left over she enjoys hanging out with friends and spending time with Peanut her dog.

Madison plans to go into the medical field and study animal science.  She also is a volunteer in the community through the National Honor Society.

It's been my pleasure to capture her memories for her parents along with barrel racing action photos the past few years.

www.JoHPhotography.com to book your session
Professional Hair and Makeup :  MaddGlam (find them on facebook)
Photography Assistant:  Tana Butts

Emily Savage Senior 2019

I met this young lady about 5 years ago when I started my photography career in barrel racing.  I can't believe how fast the years go and now here I am photographing this young lady and she's going to graduate high school in 2019.

Her main focus and love is and has always been her animals  She enjoys barrel racing, trail riding, taking her dog on hikes and to the dog park, and showing her sheep.

Emily has two horses that she barrel races on and playdays; However her main focus at the moment is on her team of 5 sheep that she plans on taking to the Fort Worth Stockshow and Tarrant county Junior Livestock show in the spring, her main goal is making sale and selling one of the market sheep at each and winning a buckle with one of her breeding sheep.  If that's not enough in the spring Emily plans on competing on the FFA horse judging team.

Her day is very busy and consists of feeding all of her animals, working the sheep out on the treadmill and getting them show ready and working the horses and keeping them in shape.

Emily currently is an intern at Trinity Veterinary Medical Center, she plans on taking her to test to become a certified veterinary assistant in the spring and plans to study for pre vet in the fall.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Changing Things Up

One of my favorite things as a photographer is changing up angles and composition, as most everyone knows I photograph the Amazing sport of Barrel Racing 90% of my time.  Living in Texas it's either too hot or too cold and that leads us indoors so the ground is not too wet or dry.  In order to capture a nice sharp photo it requires light.  Depending on how many lights you have you are pretty restricted to a few areas.

Being able to capture something different makes your job fun, you love what you see and the barrel racer loves something different as well.  Working with sun is the main thing in photography which will give you angles you don't normally photograph.  I love stepping outside of the box, it may not work but you'll learn alot about your job in the process.

Capturing photos at a different angle also shows the ability of horse and rider from a different perspective. Alot of people will stop by the photo booth to see how their horse looks and what might of gone wrong.  Seeing things in a different way helps them as well.  Thats what Jo H Photography is here for, helping in anway I can.  If i can capture a angle that improves your barrel run the next time I'm very happy with that

www.JoHPhotography.com

Small Business Tip # 2 "Asking the Right Questions"

In Small Business the biggest part of our very busy job is making sure to ask the right questions.  That goes for the Business owner as well as the Client.  Any question in your mind needs to be asked so that both parties are clear on what is expected from the job.  For myself as a photographer I want to make sure I take care of the clients needs.  How long will the expected job take, How many Images will be needed, What format, High Resolution or Web size, Will there be touch ups, What Time of day, how fast do you need the photos; will I need to rent equipment if I don't have the right equipment etc etc.

For the client they need to be asking similar questions, I need photos for myself or my business, how many photos are included in my package, will i get a release to print or use for advertising. I need them by such and such day

It takes both parties to be successful, jot down your questions before conversing, if you can visit thats better so you can talk about what you both need to make this a great partnership, I like to see a location at the time of day we will be shooting to see if the light is going to make my job harder or easier.  I look at backgrounds and will I spend time in photoshop longer than expected.

As a photographer I try to ask as many questions as possible; if it doesn't turn out like I had in my mind then I didn't ask the right questions.  I will always fulfill what the client needs based on the questions I asked.  That could lead to a loss of money for me which is a lesson learned to ask better questions the next time around.  The last thing I want to do is NOT deliver what the client needs and also losing money for time I didn't budget into the job

A paper trail I feel is very important as well, get things down in writing, the last thing you want to do is lose a friendship or client over something you think you said or something you think they said.  Having it down in writing will salvage a business relationship and more important a friendship.  I have clients sign a few forms before their session that protects me in the future.

When I consult for a wedding, we will do a walk thru, make sure you tell me every shot you feel is the most important you don't want me to miss, i'll keep that list handy in my pocket on that special day so I make sure and capture what your needing for lasting memories.  There's nothing wrong with having that handy dandy notebook ready to use while your working on your job.  

Be prepared, Take Notes, Deliver what the Client wants based on your notes and conversations.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Growing into Fine Art

As an event photographer something we always want to do is bring new photos and angles to the athlete that competes in the events we photograph.  As a photographer we like to grow into new things.

One of the areas I am growing into is working on fine art.  This photo above is an AQHA Stallion by the name of FK Snow Camo affectionately known as CAM.  Owned by Curtis Watson Quarter Horses, he recently qualified for AQHA World in Heeling.

The minute I saw him I knew I had to work on this fine art project I had in mind.  I have never worked on High Pass and brighter exposure, I tend to work with the black background.

I knew the angle I wanted which when your working with horses that may or may not work, once we got the angle then I knew the rest was up to me.  I have people ask me what or how I do the things I do in Photoshop, I honestly tell them I don't know I just start playing.  The best way to learn anything or grow in whatever you do is trial and error.

Cam's finish photo was try number 3, i deleted the first 2 attempts.  I was happy with the final product which included alot of gradient, alot of curves alot of brush work replacing his eye, the content fill to remove the halter.

The best thing you can do is find some tutorials on youtube to get started on some training and just practice.  I am really happy with the final result and this will be blown up for the owners and also shown at my photo booth as well.

Please Follow "Cam" on Facebook he is a Perlio Stud by Flying Hearts Tuffy by Sun Frost.  out of Bailey's Drifter by Cinderwood.  Both sire and dam were buckskin and they both passed along the cream gene to Cam, which then resulted in Perlio.

He can be found at Curtis Watson quarter Horses
For Equine Portraits please contact me
www.JoHPhotography.com

A Little about NBHA

The National Barrel Horse Associate based out of Augusta Georgia revolutionized the barrel racing industry in 1992 with the divisional format.  This format allows riders of all levels to compete for prizes and money at their races.

All competitors from Beginners, to Seniors, To Open are able to compete at any NBHA races thru their D format.

NBHA members compete for District, State and World points; each state is divided into districts - I photograph and have been photographing for NBHA15 for 4 years or a little more.

NBHA15 holds individual races for their members and in 2018 started to buddy with races promoters to bring more people together for money and prizes.

NBHA15 is organized and ran by volunteers with goals of bringing bigger prizes and bigger sponsors into 2019.  If your a business and would like to be a sponsor for this organization you can find their contact information thru their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NBHATX15

#officialphotographer for NBHA15:  www.JoHPhotography.com

promotional video for NBHA15 coming soon

Small Business Tip #1 "Its not what your charging, it's what your offering"

As many of you know I run a small business out of my home in Sanger, TX.  I have been a full time photographer for over 2 years.  I pay my Sales Tax quarterly, I track my expenses daily, I have a wonderful accountant to help me stay on track.  As you know I am very passionate about what I do and where my goals are going to take me.

Today on Facebook I posted a quote "It's not what your charging; It's what your offering"  I realize price is very important when your asking about a product or service, I also feel it's very important to see what is offered in that price.

I recently reworked my packages (photography) for 2019 that I feel reaches out to all levels of someones budget.  Along with the price I want everyone to know your service does not stop there.

I have some loyal clients that have me back 2,3,4, and 5 times.  Those clients are treated to a complimentary christmas mini, I very rarely will do minis but I will give that to a client that is going to have me back over and over.

I spend around $2,000 to $3500 a year in training, I put hours of practice in to get better at what I do. My equipment is maintained, I keep insurance on my equipment.  I feel that I offer what is in the price packages I have set in place.

I absolutely love when I can give something back to someone who is having Jo H Photography capture their lifelong memories.

I also offer a Lay-A-Way plan for someone that might need some help paying out a session; Don't stop with just the price when you inquire, ask what's included, what else can be done, do you offer a Lay-A-Way so i can afford you.  Do you offer additional discounts after the package (which I do)  I want you to be able to have as many photos as you can get.  Please always ask I'll do what I can while trying to maintain my home, staying current on my taxes and insurance.

I want you to be part of the Jo H Photography family and earn some of those free items I offer.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Tiny but Mighty

Greatness comes in small packages and seven year old Lindsay Busch is no exception.  This little lady is affectionately known as "Tiny but Mighty".

She started riding at the ripe old age of 3 year olds and now at the veteran age of 7 she competes in numerous youth rodeo organizations and is in the running for "Rookie of the Year" in the Little Britches Organization.  She can be seen at the local jackpots in barrel racing going up some of the best competitors in the area.

This young lady calls Ponder, Texas home and comes from a long family line of rodeo athletes,  Mom Lori a past competitive Barrel Racer and her Father Dan a past Bull Rider.  She is homeschooled and holds down her end of the daily chores around the Ranch.  

This little lady lists Cooking as one of her favorite things to do along with riding her bike and hunting with her dad.  She's a natural in front of the camera and I have a good feeling at whatever she decides in life she will be a huge success.

www.JoHPhtography.com

Kylee Butts Senior 2019

Kylee Butts, a Senior at Valley View High School Texas will graduate top 10 in her class.  Thats not a small accomplishment, hard word and dedication has moved her to the top of her class.

Kylee plans to attend NCTC (North Central Texas College) after graduation from VVHS and participating in the Equine Programs.  Equine events have been no stranger to Kylee, she has spent her entire life competing in Horse events.  High School rodeo was her main focus the past five years and she has won numerous championships.

Her first open rodeo wins came just this year (2018) winning the OPEN BARREL RACING average at the Annual St Jo, Texas rodeo and winning the first go round at the Annual Forestburg, Tx. rodeo.  her future plans include making the UPRA Rodeo Finals.

Kylee's passion completely revolves around horses.  She starts and trains her own horses and she continues to educate herself in the equine world.

www.JoHPhotography.com to book your session
Photography assistant: Tana Butts
Photographer: Jo H Photography

Changing Things up

As an event photographer you can get stuck in a rut pretty fast, once you have the settings and know your arena you can start to venture out of your comfort zone.

One of my favorite arenas to photograph in is NRS Event Center in Decatur, Texas.  BPH Productions holds a weekly barrel race every Tuesday night, the most amazing talent of barrel racers in Texas and Oklahoma have made their way thru this barrel race.

I've learned you need to try new things and spice things up from time to time because the same photo just gets old after awhile. With this over saturated market of photographers you do need to try to stand out of the crowd.

I like playing around with light and low remote angles to see how things look.  I haven't worked on this runout light in awhile and last night gave it a try again.  If you can hit it just right you can usually end up with something very interesting and based on the sales last night almost everyone picked the runout and lighting as a choice for them.

In your job, do a few different things to see what kind of reception you get and keep thinking outside the box so you don't blend in with the competition

www.JoHPhotography.com

Rodeo Family

This is a Rodeo Family, You'll find rodeo families all around the United States; I'm pretty close to this particular rodeo family and friends with quite a few others.

Something you'll notice about the rodeo family is how close they are, they do everything together from training together, caring for their horses, keeping the family home together, working together, traveling together.  Their always together as a team!

Father and daughter, riding the same horse, helping each other in their arena so their better at the next calf roping, breakaway or rodeo.  Rodeo families practice, help, teach, train all together

No matter how big, or how small, they are there to help each other out.  You don't hear very often about rodeo family kids getting in trouble, their too busy learning how to care for their horses, pick up after themselves, go to school, and learn responsibility.

If you have an opportunity to have your kids at horse camp, or own a horse, or participate in rodeos, I would encourage you to do so.  It's an amazing sport and something you can do together as a family

Miss Mollie

Miss Mollie Lane is 13 years old, but is one of the most mature 13 year old young ladies you will ever come around.

She has owned, trained and competed on her good palomino horse "Sunup Starbert" since she was 7 years old and will readily admit he is the love of her life.

Mollie has been blessed to qualify for the BBR World Finals and The Patriot and has ran in various organizations such as BRAT and M7 Youth Rodeo.  She also participates in Texas Jr. high Rodeo Association.

She aspires to make it to the RFDTV American and NFR.  She hopes to earn a rodeo scholarship and become a veterinarian.  She is currently home schooled and is an honor roll student.

Keep an eye out for Mollie this summer, she will be hitting some of the North Texas Barrel Races and youth Rodeos

2013 AQHA Stallion Limp Biscuit

Limp Biscuit is a 2013 AQHA Stallion, He is the own son of Famous Bugs out of Biscuit Jet Motion who is a daughter of Win Motion.

He is a Barrel Racing money earner and Lisa Johnson of Rafter L Barrel Horses is currently hauling him to work towards his AQHA World Show Qualification in 2018

You can like Rafter L Barrel Horses on Facebook to keep up with their training program as well this amazing AQHA stallion.

Www.JoHPhotography.com to book your professional portraits.  Horses, Dogs, People

“For all your photography needs”

Tomboy Princess Life of Miss B

Brinley Howard is 7 years old and is the perfect mixture of Princess and Tomboy wrapped up in one package.

She loves to play and fight with her big brother, but enjoys her horses more than anything else in the world.  She has two ponies named "Sassy and Poptart" that she runs barrels on around the North Central Texas area.

If you ask her she will tell you that she is obsessed with anything and everything horse related.  Her favorite place to shop isn't the local toy store, or local little girl shop it's Tractor Supply so that she can add to her collection of horses, barns, pens, trucks and trailers.

She enjoys riding motorcycles with her dad and going fast!  She is a straight A student and loves to play and meet new friends.

One of her biggest goals is to place in an open barrel race.  Keep an eye out for this determined young lady, I think her biggest goal will happen sooner than you think.

Photos by Jo H Photography.  www.JoHPhotography.com to book your session

Shandel Miller of Springtown Texas like many young ladies has been riding horses way before she could even walk.  She started her equine sports career at the local playdays and progressed to the rodeo arena when she was in high school and the age of 14.

Shandel started her youth equestrian days also riding and competing on cutting horses at the ripe old age of 12; from there she progressed and competes in Barrel Racing, a sport she continues to compete at today.

One of her current barrel horses is "STAR" a 23 year old black gelding, she purchased Star when he was 2, trained and still competes on to this day.  Her second horse she trained with the help of The Paul Humphrey Clinics is Gracie, she will tell you those clinics really helped her get Gracie where she is today.

She currently has a 5 year old horse that has been added to her arsenal of horses that she will be starting on barrels.  Shandel lists one of her biggest goals in taking one of her own horses she trains to a futurity or derby in the near future.

Photos by Jo H Photography

www.JoHPhototgraphy.com to book your session

Luke Sullivan Senior 2018

Luke is a senior in Flower Mound and will be graduating June 2018, his interests are hunting and fishing; but his main interest is his Chevy Truck.

He is Active in FFA and a very active church member, Luke is known as the guy everyone can count on, if you need something this young man will be there to help

He plans to attend Tarleton State University in the fall majoring in Business.

To book your session contact www.JoHPhotography.com

Gracie Key Senior 2018

Miss Gracie Key, Senior 2018, will be graduating June 2018; She is very active in the North Texas Area competing in NTHSRA Rodeos as well as FFA and very successful showing pigs at the big stock shows in Texas.

She plans to attend OSU and majoring in animal science and possibly pre vet as her interest is in Equine Reproduction..

Gracie has been very successful in the rodeo arena, qualifying for Region 3 Finals in Pole Bending and NTHSRA in Barrel Racing.  She also enjoys roping at the local youth rodeos.

Gracie is also top 3 in her class and is an active member of The National Honor Society.  Gracie is also loves Texas FFA and is an active chapter member and serves as Secretary.

Gracie also competes in FFA in speaking and judging events, she was 5th high individual in horse judging and recently placed 3rd high at a large competition.

I have been so happy to have Gracie represent Jo H Photography this past year as Senior Rep and can't wait to see what her future holds.

Horses in Black

Every month I work on a new project on something that I am not very strong in so that I can learn to become stronger as a photographer and handle any job that may be coming my way.

This next month I wanted to work on Horses with a black background, I have around 8 horses lined up to work on this.  After my session this morning we did capture a couple of the horses that just won AQHA Level I Gold and Silver to get me started.

This is a technique that is greek to me, I reached out to a couple photographers and as you photographers know there is not much you’ll get in the way of help from your local competitition.  One was kind enough to answer and say I am on the right track, at this point I know it’s working on my photoshop more and more.  

Having the horse set up in a good post is HUGE to capturing a great image for your client.

Whatever your weakness make sure you work on it to make it your strengt.

Www.JoHPhotography.com