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