Love those spring sessions

 Just like so many other photographers I absolutely cannot wait for spring and all of the beautiful colors that surround us

My favorite sessions are young ladies with their horses and move them to a beautiful field of colors. These photos will make the best wall canvas for you to display on your homes

One of the best tips I could give anyone is to know your locations, the flowers and greenery in your area so your prepared for those sessions when they come along

Plan trips to scout areas close to where you live and ask for referrals to locations outside of your hometown. Homework is essential to offer the clients all they wish for

Sadie Jane West Senior 2023

 Sadie Jane West is a Senior at Peaster High School, what makes her story so inspiring is she showed how determined she was to graduate early.  She is actually a junior, but in 2019 she chose to graduate early and took online classes to make sure that happened.

They moved to Peaster and started a new life for her, it was the best decision she ever made was to join the High School Rodeo Team representing Peaster High School Rodeo. She says "I love every minute of competing at North Texas High School Rodeo Association and the jackpots around our area".  She credits her amazing parents for hauling her every week to compete on her horses.  

Sadie will be attending Hardin-Simmons University in the fall and plans to study animal science/pre-veterinary and eventually become an equine vet.  She is so excited to graduate and start another new life in college accomplishing her goals.

She was so nice to compliment Jo H Photography as a sponsor and being there during her rodeo and barrel racing career capturing the action where she competed.  She served as a Junior Rep on one of my teams and has been such a big supporter, I can't thank her and her family enough for that.

Trey Pennington Senior 2023

 When I first started my photography journey, I was a hobbyist looking for something to do in a little down time I had.  I started off in Saint Jo Texas and what I loved was they offered mini and senior bull riding.  I loved this sport so much.  Down the road 10 years and I ended up photographing at NTHSRA in Saginaw for a few years and again, fell back into the bull riding events and watching some great bull riders.

This week I had the pleasure of capturing Senior 2023 photos for Trey Pennington, he was one of our regular customers at the Photo Booth at the rodeo and I loved photographing him each week at the youth rodeos.

Trey started his bull riding career at the young age of 3.  He is currently 18 and competes at North Texas High School Rodeo and has qualified for the Fort Worth Stock Show Scholarship Rodeo and also competes at TYBR events and various youth rodeos. 

Trey also currently serves on the Student board for North Texas High School Rodeo, He has been doing all of this wile competing in law enforcement events.    He is going to continue his love of Bull Riding after High School at the collegiate level while gaining a major in Agricultural Business.

www.Johphotography.com

Kylea Pytel Senior 2023

 I met this young lady a few years ago through the great sport of Barrel Racing and then High School Rodeo.  She is a member of the Burleson Rodeo Team and will be graduating from Burleson Centennial May of 2023

Kylea will be attending Texas Tech University in the fall specializing in Human Developmental Science and then attending Tech Nursing School after she finishes at Texas Tech.

I asked Kylea if she would be continuing with her barrel racing when she goes off to college and she said "YES" She will be barrel racing on the Texas Tech Rodeo Team; thats a huge accomplishment and so much hard work and dedication to be a full time student as well as being a part of the rodeo team.

"It does not matter how slowly you go, as long a you do not stop". Confucius.

Best of Luck to Kylea in her future, I wanted to appreciate her and her family for being so supportive of my little business

www.johphotography.com

 I had the pleasure of working with Kaprice aka "Pip" of Pips Bakery on Food Photography.  She brought her love of cooking and Grandmas recipe to life and created her own small business.

Kaprice is a wife and mother and grew up in a small East Texas Town and loved the country and the wild honeysuckle and pasture full of horses.  Her love of baking is deeply rooted from her early childhood standing on an old wooden stool in her grandma's kitchen, just tall enough to peek over the counter to dip her fingers in the dough for a taste.

As she has continued to bake throughout her adult life, it was her Grandmothers passing that really pulled her back into the deep love of baking.  She received her old wood box of handwritten recipes, most of which were very hard to read but filled with so much love and memories of her kitchen when she was a child.  Kaprice began making all of those old family recipes mixed with some new she acquired along her baking journey and felt a peace she hasn't felt in a long time.  She said "I knew I needed to pursue this passion."

She feels blessed to be a part of so many others special occasions and just their normal day to day lives that includes something she loves in her baked goods.  Her passion for baking has grown to a bigger dream of maybe one day owning her own bakery.

Facebook:  Pips Bakery

Photographer: Jo H Photography www.johphotography.com

North Texas High School Rodeo 4.22 and 4.23.2022

The regular season for 2022 is about to finish for North Texas High School Rodeo.  This past weekend was a double point race; what that means is alot of the athletes below number 15 position could move up to a higher placing to make the NTHSRA Finals.

If you have not visited the rodeos on Friday and Saturday nights I would make it part of my weekend plans to come out and watch some great rodeo action.  Rodeos on Fridays start at 8pm with a $7 ticket charge to come inside.  Saturday rodeos start anywhere from 2pm to 6pm with the same gate entry charge.

North Texas High School Rodeo Association consists of rodeo athletes in the High School level from Freshman to Senior.  You will see teams as small as 4 members and some teams as high as 47 members.  

Each athlete pays their own entry by themselves or with the help of a sponsor.

Events at the North Texas High School rodeo are (bareback, saddlebronc, walk up goats, ride up goats, steer wrestling, team roping, calf roping, ribbon roping, barrel racing, pole bending and bull riding.  Rodeos last anywhere from 4 to 6 hours with numerous entries each day.

The caliber of talent at this organization is amazing!  I would encourage you to come out and witness what will be tomorrows NFR champions.  This organization is run by a board of directors with rodeo teams hosting rodeos to help run a smooth process week after week.

Vendor spots are always available, food is always fresh at the concession stand.  Come out and support such a great organization

#johphotography #northtexasphotographer #rodeophotographer

www.johphotography.com

 

Business Specials

 

2020 and the beginning of 2021 has been a challenge for small business.  With so many begin NON ESSENTIAL we were shut down from our regular routines of booking and helping clients and waiting for unemployment checks and stimulus checks to survive.

At the beginning of this year I wanted to do something to collaborate to help other small business and also stay busy.  I offer a very affordable small business photo shoot (which includes minimal editing) to give you 30 days of photos to post daily on your social media to use for advertising 

Its been great with the first few that jumped onto this, helping them get the photos they need for advertising and then posting about their business on my facebook page to hopefully draw some attention to them as well as myself.

Small business is often looked over or have to wait longer for corporate business for any kind of assistance, we need to help each other by word of mouth and referrals.

The best way you can help is if you have a small business you like, give them a shout out on facebook, so many people go to facebook pages and hit the like as a way to follow and keep up with a business.  Likes, Shares, Tags, and giving a small business a 5 rating is almost as helpful as $$.  Money is always best but to help share and advertise for a business goes a long way.

http://www.alpschiropractic.com/ ALPS Chiropractice on Facebook located in Blum Texas can help you with animals, and humans. 

Black creek K-9 Services LLC can be found on facebook

Www.JoHphotography.com for all your photography needs

Facebook

Instagram

Website 

Tips for Booking your Photographer

I see a lot of posts on Facebook for someone asking for a photographer.  I always am so happy when I see my name mentioned, to me that means those individuals loved their photos and loved them enough to recommend me to someone they know.

When you're looking for a photographer I would offer a few tips.

1. Ask to see samples of their work.  If the photographer has a website, make sure and ask for a link and look at not just their portfolio of photos (those will always be the photographers favorites) but also links to sessions.  If you're looking for a senior photographer for your son or daughter you don't want to see (for example) just race cars.  You want to see a sample of their senior photography work

2.  Ask for recommendations, chances are you were already referred by someone, ask them "Did you book so and so photography" if so, what were 5 pros and 5 cons.  See if the photographer has a Facebook page and check their recommendations. Its like shopping on amazon and you read the reviews

3.  Knowledge, Test their knowledge, if you have ideas ask them and see what their open to, if they don't know how to do something you may not want to book that photographer, hopefully that photographer will be honest with you and say I haven't done that but I know How, or I haven't done that but would love to try it.  You'll know if your comfortable with that photographer

4.  Quality.  ALWAYS ALWAYs choose quality for your photos.  These are memories that you should be printing.  If your not printing, then honestly your doing it wrong, PRINT your memories, put them on the wall, send them to family, create an album.  Don't just get your flash drive put a few on instagram and forget about them.  PRINT those memories.

5.  Price.  Everyone has a budget, ask the photographer for a price list but most important ask the what is included.  A knoweldgeable photographer will have done CODB. (cost of doing business) and what she charges is what she knows it will cost her to do business.  I stand behind my prices, my quality, my recommendations, and my samples of work.

Not everyone will book a session with me, thats ok, I know it boils down to this or that.  find the photographer that is right for you and it's just like finding the right stylist or the right dentist.  Thats the person your going to call on time and time again to capture and record your lifetime of memories

Headshots

This year I wanted to take on a year long project for the main organization I photograph for on a monthly basis.  I wanted to feature the members of NBHA15 in Texas.  When I started my photography journey they were one of the first organizations I started to photograph for.  

They have always been a HUGE supporter of my photography and I have grown to know so many of them that I wanted everyone to know how amazing they are.

My goal was to feature the members so we could get to know them personally and also to understand why they are members of the NBHA.  After their headshots I ask them to type up 2 paragraphs and send them to me to share along with their photo.  Through this project I have learned a lot I didn’t know about each one of them.

Through this project we’ve also seen quite of them get featured on a national level which makes me extremely happy for everyone to meet our local barrel racers.  All over the world there are amazing people out there and for me to work on this for 2020 I am so happy to get to know people at a little closer level than I would if I was just photographing their action photo.

I like to take on projects if it’s for a day, a week, month or even a year they help me grow!  I can’t wait until the end of the year to see how many I am able to capture and to get to know each one of them a little bit more

Www.JoHPhotography.com

follow me on Facebook Jo H Photography and Instagram joh_photo

Rent vs Buy

If you have the opportunity to rent a piece of equipment before you buy I highly recommend this.  Luckily photographers are able to borrow a lens, camera or lighting gear from friends, stores and rental specialty locations.

It is one of the best ways to try out a piece of gear before you lay down $Hundreds and even $Thousands in dollars.

If your not sure about a piece of equipment and rush out and buy it then realize it's not what you really "needed" But "wanted" you just used up your savings and unless that store has an amazing return policy, your piece of equipment because a very heavy paperweight and you'll have trouble getting what you paid for back.

There are times when I need a certain lens for an event, I rent a super wide angle lens for real estate photography, it's not something I do on a regular basis, I may photograph 1-4 houses a year which is not much, the lens I need is $1400 why spend that much money on a lens that's going to be used 4 times a year.  Instead I rent that lens, if the agent wants to push more work my way, I would love to buy the lens but until I work at a job to pay for the equipment than renting is the way I will go.

Weddings is another event that you can rent and save money on specialty lenses and not have so much money sitting around.

Check out some of your local camera stores and ask them if they offer a rental program.  Most stores offer a 1 day rate for weekends, which Is the best time to rent.  You pick it up on Friday after lunch, keep it all weekend, return it on Monday before lunch for the price of 1 day.  Thats a steal if your using that lens for a weekend of jobs.  You save a few thousand dollars and you don't have to turn your profit into a paper weight

Owning is great once you know you are going to use that lens, or if you have to send your equipment off to be taken care of for maintenance and repairs, rent the equipment you need to keep from buying a second piece.  I use my 70-200mm F2.8 pretty much daily, if that lens goes back to the manufacturer for some work, I am calling the local camera store and renting it for the jobs I have.

I do have multiple lenses in my arsenal but each one has a specialty and may not work.  So before putting a bunch of money down and impulse buying, rent something to try for a week or two and then you'll know if you have to have it or just wanted it.


Follow me on Facebook Jo H Photography
Follow me on Instagram Joh_photo

www.JoHPhotography.com

Event Photographer and Promoters Working as a Team

There is a great quote by Henry Ford

TEAMWORK!
         Coming together is a beginning
                 Keeping together is a progress
                         Working together is a success!

I've been an event photographer since the very beginning of my photography career, it's how I actually got into photography when I wanted to learn.

I remember buying my camera and not having anything interesting or so I thought at the time so I reached out to a few clubs in the area to start practicing.  That little email that led me to Saint Jo Texas to photograph the Saint Jo Youth Rodeo Series for a couple years led me to other avenues

I ended up hearing about a barrel race at Nocona by TOBRA, I reached out to that organization and asked if they had anyone photographing and could I come out.  I am ALWAYS going to ask I am against people practicing on top of the event photographer and then giving photos away. I think its a courtesy to ask and then be told yes or no you can come out.

After a few years traveling with TOBRA I found some local organizations (NBHA15 which serves my area, WWP at the old Wild West Arena in Azle its named something else now) and then some random races around the area.

Over time I started to photograph for Infinity C Ranch, Bar G, BPH Productions, Salt Creek and a few other promoters.

I think what has kept me in the arena (most event photographers do retire from that and move onto other things) is the teamwork I have with the promoters/producers.  I feel like the current ones I am working with we have a good "TEAMWORK" we respect each other and help each other.  They allow me to come out and photograph at their venue/events and I in turn advertise and do everything I can to help get the word out about their events.  Over time I will sponsor events to support them for supporting me.

I have been blessed to have good experiences with promoters, there's always going to be bad experiences.  From the bad experience I have had I would highly recommend communication and make sure everything is clear up front.  Know what your going into and what they expect from you and vice versa.

Don't just take as a photographer, don't go in and shoot, sell and leave, you do need to do something in return.  I offer this and that and if they don't follow thru and let me know then I have made the invitation that this is what I can do for you.

I like that my working relationship involves them and I working together on dates.  NBHA15 will always reach out to me at the end of the year to ask what my schedule looks like, I like that, they want to work with me.  They will never replace me as a photographer also and that may not seem like much but that does make me feel good.

I've been named their #official photographer as well as Infinity C Ranch and BPH Productions when they were having their Tuesday night Races.  As a photographer in a very busy area those little things mean alot.  When I'm free for races for Bar G they also will name me as their #official photographer.

What that means to me is they will support me at their events and if someone else shows up to try to photograph and give photos away I know they will politely let them know we have a photographer please don't step on her toes.

I have been blessed to work with some amazing organizations and as I try to slow down and move into other areas, I have a goal and plan to continue but continue at a smaller level and continue to work with the promoters I currently work with.

When I started my goal was never to go to the big events like NFR or BBR World, I just wanted to be good at what I do at my level, the events I chose to photograph(If I am ever invited to something on a different scale than what I photograph, I would be honored to take a look).  I couldn't do that without the support of the barrel racer and the support of the promoters/producers that allow me to be a part of their team.

I look forward to 2020 and working with NBHA15, Bar G, Infinity C Ranch, NTHSRA, KP Productions, TJRA and a few other events.

MY schedule is pretty full for this year but I do have a few open weekends contact me as far in advance as you can if your interested in myself photographing for you.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Follow me on Facebook Jo H Photography
Follow me on Instagram Joh_photo

Getting ready for your session

Yesterday while capturing Madison Wrights headshot for her MaddGlam page she mentioned something so amazing, she wanted to do a series of videos on how to get ready for your photo session.

First of all check her out on Facebook under MaddGlam, she is the #official Makeup artist for www.JoHPhotography.com.

I like to mention to any potential clients that one of the best things you can do is prepare, don't wait to the last minute and think about what you would like to accomplish as the end result of your session.

Some sessions go really quick and easy some take alot of work, I don't mind scouting backgrounds (after a retainer is paid of course) and meeting up with the clients to talk about your vision.

Right now I have a few sessions in the works, we talk about clothes, time of year, color therapy, animals, no animals, time of day, makeup etc.  Alot of work can and can't go into a session.  Some of the best sessions involve alot of behind the scenes and prep work.

Photographers book up early for senior sessions that are between February and Graduation, Don't wait to try to get the photographer of your choice, there may be a good chance their books up.  Plan ahead, pay your retainer get your date reserved then if weather comes in and messes up your day your on the books and they can work with you on moving to the next available day.

If you want your horses to be dolled up and looking gorgeous that takes time too, make sure their bathed, new shoes or trimming, get a FITTED halter, it doesn't have to be a fancy leather halter with silver, but if it makes your horse look amazing, borrow one, just make sure it fits.  Everyone will say You can just Photoshop it.  We don't want to photoshop it, we want to do less on the computer as possible.

so make a checklist. 

1) Photographer

2) makeup artist

3) location

4) time of Day

5) clothes

6) etc.  

Talk to your photographer and make up artist to help you, this is what we do and we want your session to be the best session ever.  We know having a photo shoot isn't cheap (at least for an experienced photographer).  We want you to get what your paying for.

Contact me for your senior, family, engagement, wedding, maternity, newborn, baby's first year session.  Anything Equine it's what I do.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Don't forget to follow me on Facebook and instagram

A Photographers Tips To Buying Gear

Around the holidays I am asked a lot about camera gear; "so and so is interested in photography what do you recommend"

I try to find out exactly what will so and so be photographing because there are so many directions you can go.  Is it for pleasure or are they planning to start a business?  Is it indoors or outdoors, is it portraits or action?  The one thing you want, just my personal opinion, when your looking to get a camera or your giving a camera as a gift is ask yourself a few questions.

What do I want my camera for
Am I doing it for fun
will I be using it outdoor days or indoor nights

The last one is a big one, if your buying a camera just for fun you can get by with a starter kit that most camera stores, Best Buy, Walmart, etc offer during Black Friday.  The kit lens that comes with the camera is perfect to start out with.  Get to know that camera and if your interest stays with you then you can progress.  Most of your money will be in the lens you add to that first camera.  You can buy as low as $100 and spend as much as $10,000 it just depends on what you want.

I highly recommend if you decide to keep going to rent; rent locations at Arlington Camera, Competitive Camera, Borrowlenses.com Lensrental.com. Those are amazing if your thinking of buying a lens but your not sure you want to drop a lot of money, rent it for a few days or few weeks to try it out first.  I do this a lot before spending money on a lens.  At the profession I am at I have spent up to $3,000 on a lens, thats not easy to turn loose, so you do want to make sure its going to work for you and you will get a return on your investment.

Cameras, you can do a lot with just any starter camera, when I get messages on what to get I always recommend a DX or Crop Sensor, it's smaller and lightweight, you get about an extra 80mm of reach vs the big FX that I use for portraits and commercial work.  Their more affordable.  The camera I use for all of the action photos is a DX, I like the extra 80mm of reach on my 200mm lens and its lighter, even though I use a monopod Most jobs you can get fatigues just holding up a large kit.  Look at Megapixels are you just printing 5x7, 8x10 or are you looking at build boards?  do your research, the one thing you want to avoid is buying something a year later because you didn't do your research.  New gear comes out faster than new car models, but you WON'T get a good trade or cash in on camera gear, it depreciates very fast.

YOUTUBE for research, I've watched a lot of videos trying to narrow down a purchase, my newest camera the Nikon D850 boasted a hefty $3200 price, I saved for a year and watched video all year to make sure that was the one I wanted.  It was in such high demand you couldn't get it for the longest time nor could you rent it.  When my name came up on the wait list, I bought it and it was a great investment.  I plan to keep this camera for quite a few years - its my only camera body for weddings, senior portraits, sale horses, stallions and such. I don't use it for barrel racing, it cost to much to get dusty.

There are some great stores that sell refurbished. B&H and Adorama, they are 100% photo and video related stores so they receive a lot of gear, I send all of mine to Adorama to trade for new gear, they give me the best value, offer free shipping and no sales tax.  as a business every penny counts and thats who I choose to do business with.

One last thing to remember is if you just want a carry around camera don't forget the advancements of the iPhones or any phone.  Most now have 4K built in, they have so many great lens on the camera and you can buy additional lens that attach to your phone. You would be surprised what high quality is out there just for a carry mourned lens.  I bought the iPhone 10 and I've started to play with the camera and settings and I'm pretty blown away, when I do my scouting trips a lot of times the photos I am taking to do my research and map out sessions is from the photos I have taken from the iPhone.

Just do your research before you pay, remember that gear is pretty amazing, but it doesn't hold the value thats why we keep our gear as long as we can until we just can't do without that new shiny model and have to have it

www.JoHPhotography.com

Why I Love Portrait Photography

The past few years I've seen my business grow more toward portrait photography, a little back history about me I started out photographing a local Youth Organization and from there a few of the moms would ask if I also did portraits.  I started out playing around with it but when I decided to really pursue portrait photography I started to attend workshops from more experienced photographers.  I learned that I really love taking portraits, I especially enjoy when they include things they love if its horses, sheep, cars, trucks, boats.  Anything that in 20 years from now will remind them of this time in their life.

As a portrait photographer that is working to photograph the seniors in your area, think about this occasion.  It is one of the last big moments in that young persons life for his or her parents.  The parents have had so much time with this person capturing memories and now its time for you to give them one of the last biggest memories that parents will have as this young person is probably going off to college.  If your a photographer, talk to the parents to have them as involved as possible - this is such a great memory for them and they know its just a few months away before this life they have been consumed with is about to go off to adulthood.

Be as creative as possible in the senior sessions, ask a lot of questions, what are your interests, what are your hobbies, what are some of the things you love to do, do you play sports etc.  Incorporate as much of their personality and likes in their session - as young people move on to other things in life they may end up leaving behind something that consumed a lot of their lives at this point, give them a lasting memory

Don't forget the critters in your sessions, everyone has a special horse, dog, or cat that they are so close to, I have the above young lady booking a session a year to capture the growth of this palomino, it's the best feeling knowing that you will be seeing them yearly and each year will be different in theme and in the meantime we are capturing memories that she will cherish for a lifetime

When someone contacts you for a session, along with answering all of their questions, please ask them questions as well, you want this experience to be amazing for them, when they receiving their photos you want them to love them so much they are all over their home printed, framed and there for all of her friends and family to see.

www.JoHPhotography.com to book your session

My Most Recent Session

My most recent session happened to be held at one of my favorite locations (Infinity c Ranch) in Farmersville Texas and was with a few of my favorite ladies since I picked up my camera.

When Alyson contacted me for a quick shoot she wanted something special with herself and her daughter.  We originally planned to have the session at the State Park close to Sanger, but ended up moving the location due to some obligations closer to home for this duo.

I remember walking around thinking, Boy this Sun is harsh, there's not this, there's not that and I had all this worry I wasn't going to get them something to brag about.  I walked here, walked there, held my camera up, down, upside down (haha) and then finally walked to a spot and turned 1/2 way around and knew that was the spot.

Even with all of the scouting, all the prep sometimes things aren't ideal, but that teaches us as artist to just take a look around your surroundings.  You will be surprised what is right in front of you.  I ended up being very blessed with this golden field with the sun just right and the ladies so beautiful there was no way we were going to walk away unhappy.  That little 15-20 minutes in that field turned out to be some of my most favorite work as an artists.  It helped that I had two beautiful ladies in front of me and gorgeous horses as their props.

As an artist if your a photographer, painter, sketch artist, anything just look around without walking in all directions and you will be surprised what's in front of you.  Picture a person or thing in that spot and you can make magic.  Don't overthink it, let the artist in you go free and you will capture a memory for someone that they will proudly display on their wall.

My most recent session made me happy because the mother/daughter that I photographed were happy with their photos and displayed them proudly on facebook and I know will display them on their wall.

www.JoHPhotography.com  #johphotography

Follow me on instagram @joh_photo

Communicating with your Client

As a photographer or any small business its our job to make sure we communicate to the client/customer so they have full understanding and no confusion in any way.

I like when I receive messages thru email, Facebook messenger or even text.  Having it all written out to me is very helpful so they can go back and read over your answers and have everything in writing. Even if someone calls me I will do a follow up of what we talked about in writing so they have the discussion in text form to refer to.

Being clear on "What they get" for the price your asking is very important.  How many photos are included, Do they get digitals, do they get prints, will it be emailed, is it flash drive.  All of those things should be very clear and discussed with your customers.

How many outfit changes do I get?  I'm one of those that I don't care if they change clothes 20 times, it's their time slot if they book me for 1 1/2 hours they can change clothes over and over, that their time to do as they wish.  They need to know the more they change clothes the less photos I am taking but I feel if they want to change thats up to them and I want them to be happy.

I often scout or ask for photos of the location so I can have an understanding of the area, where is the sun coming from, are there props for us to use to help pose them.  Those things help when planning a session.  I often write a script based on the location and the outfits, horses, dogs or just the people; that way we can utilize our time wisely and they will get the most for their money.

I do my best to deliver 50 to 75 proofs that might be a 15 digital package; I want to make sure I capture a variety of backgrounds so they don't have the same boring background photo after photo.

When I finish a session, I also hand the customer / client a "Whats going to happen next" page that they keep.

I go over my process and tell them when I get home this is what happens, they know exactly they will be seeing their proofs by a certain time, they get a free photo to share immediately, their photos are ordered, I touch up and do. my best to enhance the photos in a certain way, what edits are done, when they will be finished, where to order their prints from.

They shouldn't have any questions after they finish a session with me, moving forward I plan to move that process into the next level and I'm excited at the changes that are coming up for Jo. H Photography to make the customer experience a quicker and more efficient process.  Speed and accuracy is a must and thats something I am always working on.

Make sure as a business you discuss everything, don't assume anything, explain, type it out, say it over and over so you are doing your job of letting the customer know that their money is well spent.

www.johphotography.com to book your session

Your Ah-Ha moment

Photography is kind of confusing when your first staring out.  There wasn’t a lot of youtube on photography back then and you had to read articles and try to learn from other photographers.

Well we are kind of a weird bunch when it comes to learning, a lot of photographers just won’t help you because they are afraid you will get there clients (theres only a bazillion people on earth believe me there are plenty of clients to go around).  I was told large amounts of money to work with me and the articles I didn’t understand.

I remember reading over and over the same articles to try to understand camera settings.  ISO, F stop, ISO, Shutter Speed all of that is very confusing to a new photographer.  I remember when I was first learning rodeo photography I belonged to a camera club (no longer a club) and a few of the members helped me out.  I wanted to freeze action, I wanted you to look at a photo and think “Wow how did she do that”.  My Ah-Ha moment was practicing in my front yard on a very small sprinkler and trying to stop the water droplets in the air.

I spent so much time practicing on that water sprinkler, uploading photos, adjusting settings (I had no idea what I was doing or why) and then seeing how things looked then again uploading photos re looking at them.

It took awhile for me to make sense of all those camera settings, but that practice time in my front yard on that little water sprinkler was my ah-ha moment that helped me be the photographer I am today.  Mainly learning my camera, not shooting on auto and adjusting settings to make the most of my photos.

When a new photographer messages me I always recommend a lot of practice like the one I used to do, its the best way to learn.  Shoot, download, look and edit, reshoot, download, look and edit.

Your an work with the best in the world but if you don’t practice you won’t improve and you won’t have your ah-ha moment

Www.JoHPhotography.com

Tips for the Bride and her Upcoming Wedding

Its that time of year where the 2020 brides are working on their weddings for next year.  This is what I have to say "SMART GIRL".

The best tip I can give any bride is "Don't wait too long" to book anything for a wedding 8 months to a year out.  Vendors, and anyone working around a wedding will book up that far in advance.  I currently have 3 weddings in my calendar for 2020 and they have been booked 8 months in advance.

Look up a checklist of everything that needs to be done on Pinterest if you are planning yourself, even if you are hiring a wedding planner.  Get started early with everything for your very special day - if its choosing colors to choosing venues, vendors, anything that applies to your wedding.

Get started on that checklist early, venues go fast very fast, don't just rely on a message on email, or facebook, go visit those venues.  For example.  I photograph at Hollow Hill Event Center in Weatherford (located off hwy 199 between Springtown and Azle). they offer multiple wedding spots within their one facility, you can be indoors, outdoors, under the trees, under the stars.  You need to visit this location at the time of your ceremony so you can see how the light will hit that location and decide which best fits what your lookin for and I'm sure each location has a different price with it.  So visit with them, I know they take clients around on a Golf Cart and show them each location to help you decide, I'm pretty sure all venues do a tour at no charge to you but make sure to ask

Florist is another big one, depending on if you would like artificial or real flowers they need to know far in advance because if its live flowers those may be out of season.  Talk to your floral arrangement specialist as soon as you can so they can start trying to find what your looking for to work on a budget for you.  I can recommend a few for you reach out to me and from experience and photographing arrangements up close I would be happy to pass along some names and phone numbers

Your cake can be made in so many different ways, use your imagination when creating that special table for the bride and groom, the bakers are artists, you never know what fun creative thing they can create.  Contact them early they are one of the busiest of all the vendors and making sure you have them on your day is going to be one of those early phone calls you need to make, visit and see examples to help you decide.

The Dress!  Oh my goodness the dress, there are so many places to choose a dress, I think visiting some bridal shows is a great way to see the best variety in one location, if not, ask for recommendations from your friends and visit a few shops in your area.  They will have a wide range to fit any budget.  Pick the dress that will be the dress you always imagined when you were a little girl and you knew your dress was going to the prettiest dress ever.  This is your Princess day, make it so special you will remember it for a lifetime.

Make up- a lot of people do their own makeup that day, nothing wrong with that, I always recommend for ladies senior photos and weddings, go that extra step and book someone to help you look more beautiful than you already are.  MaddGlam has been my #officialmua for the past few years and I can't recommend her enough.

Last but not least of course is your photographer and videographer.  There is a budget and experience with both of those, when you ask if someone photographs weddings, make sure you see photos of weddings, ask "What is included in your price" So many times someone asks what I charge, I tell them they disappear, but they never ask me what I offer.  I offer 4, 6 and 8 hour packages, each one includes all photos GASP! photographers are falling dead all over.  I give ALL photos because thats the day they need to have every memory, it might be uncle bob laughing so hard his teeth fell out, or Dad crying when he gives his daughter away. The bride (in my opinion) should not have to choose the memory she wishes to receive.  I go against all the rules on the wedding and give them all the photos.  my prices are not cheap, but their not expensive either, they fit what I know I am offering.

ASK! ask the photographer, for the price what do I get, make sure you understand exactly and you know the work of the photographer before you agree.  I also offer gift certificates so people can help you pay for those weddings, lay a way to pay it out.  There are so many options to help you not be under stress when everyone is needing payment to help you with your wedding.

Vidoegraphers, same, see a body of their work, ask what is the time frame you will receive your finished video - ask how busy they are, what equipment they use, everything.... there is a lot behind what videographers do they have to watch tons of footage to build your story that will remind you of the day you said "I Do".

All in All - Don't wait to the last minute, plan far in advance so you can book the vendors you wish, the venues you want.  Ask for lay a way plans, ask do you offer gift certificates and put those on your wedding gift list.  Its your day, you don't want to worry, have everything in place, make your list check it twice then stop worrying and enjoy your day.  PICK a Go To person for all he vendors to go to in case they have questions, I always ask Who is my Go To person, because the bride has enough on her mind.

I'm not an expert but if you ever need help don't hesitate to reach out to me and I'm willing to help in anyway, if you book me or not, I'm happy to recommend and offer any advice to help you on your wedding.

www.JoHPhotography.com

Giving back thru Photography

One of the most rewarding things that has happened to me is using my photography and photography gear to “Give Back”.  Doing for others and giving back to a good cause has come to my heart more and more this past year.

I decided to find some organizations to help with my camera, being a HUGE animal lover I thought what better way than reaching out to a few rescue programs to help them find loving homes for the animals they are rescuing.

I reached out to TWO organizations in this area (Wild Heart Rescue in Boyd Texas) and (ShelterHearts in Bowie).  Both are great organizations with loving people with huge hearts doing everything they can to find homes for loving pets wanting a forever home.  I took photos of each of the pets and then they posted them on their site for families to see and hopefully not live without and adopt and take home forever and love them the way God intended when he created these beautiful creatures.

For Wild Heart Rescue in Boyd we did something a little different, we had pet mini sessions, donation only so the families that showed up to have photos taken with their pets made a donation of their choice direct to the Wild Heart Rescue.  It was so much fun and I felt so good helping out a great cause.  We are putting on two more of these this fall November 3, 2019 (this one is full) and November 10, 2019 has a few openings left.  This mini session set will be a little different, we will be creating a Christmas Card for them to share with their friends.

The second rescue program I was happy to help is Sacred Heart from Bowie, I found 

them thru a shared post on facebook and on that post was the dog that would find

his forever home with OUR family.  Ted the beagle/basset mix was a little guy in

the back yard of the shelter, all alone, the saddest face I had ever seen but something

in that face pulled at me and I had to bring him home.  So happy that I found him because

he has made a special place in our family and in our hearts and if I hadn't showed up that

day to photograph and help other dogs find homes, I may not of found him.

If you have a talent, be it photography, videography, graphics, marketing, ANYTHING give back to a good cause.  use your talent to help others, it will make your heart feel so good.

www.JoHPhotography.com   Info@JoHPhotography.com