Studio J Photography - Our little bit of the web

Christmas in July Special

Studio J Photography Upcoming Events!!

January 24 This weekend marks the first of many events this spring that you will be hearing more about! 

First, mark your calendars for the WMBD/WYZZ Family Fest being held at the Peoria Civic Center this coming Saturday, January 24th.  Families can enjoy many activities including:

Children's Hospital of Illinois Mobile Safety VanFun on the Run Inflatables, Survivor Casting Call, Guitar Hero Challenge, Fire Security House, Children's Face Painting, Children's Pony Rides, Digital TV Experience, Ronald McDonald and more.

There are drawings, door prizes and a LOT of people to see, so if you are going, be sure to stop by our booth!  You won't see me (I'll be at another event!!), though I am sure you will recognize Britten and you can meet a great friend and client, Jessica who will also be helping out at the booth!  We will be having a drawing as well!!

As for me, I will be meeting with some furry folk at the Town and Country Kennel Club where we are part of an all-day photography event there!  If you are a member and have not signed up, be sure to do so!  It is a jam-packed day, I hear, with not too much availability left.



February 3  is the Downtown Bloomington Tour de Chocolat and we are one of the stops on the route!  Sample different chocolate at the different stops in the downtown area and make an evening of it.  I think this sounds like a great DATE NIGHT!!   Who doesn't love chocolate, anyway?  I might have to sneak out and take a walk myself! 

February 21  is the Kids Expo at the Interstate Center.  Hosted by the Pantagraph, this was a fun event, well attended last year and we are looking forward to a great 2nd year at the expo.  You will find us there this year, with a great prize drawing!  Mark your calendars!  There is a lot to see and do, my kids absolutely loved this event and I am sure yours will too! 

March 1   Last call for our class of 2010 Spokesmodel applications!  If you have or are a senior in the class of 2010 and think you would be a good spokesmodel for Studio J photography, get your application in !

Now through March 31 we are having a headshot special for not only modeling, pageant and actor/actresses but also commercial businesses as well.  It's time to update that image and put your best face forward!  Email us for more information!

March 1 - May 31   Our ANNUAL BABY AND CHILD PORTRAIT CONTEST BEGINS!! 

This year we are so excited to announce that we are working with The Baby Fold of Normal, IL, for our Portrait Contest event this year!!  All entries to the portrait contest will benefit the Baby Fold, and there will be some fun prizes involved!! More information is to come, including all of the details of the contest, how you can participate and what your participation and donations mean for our community and the children and families served by The Baby Fold. Watch for more information, and be sure to get on the list if you haven't already!  YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS!!

April-May  Our spring upcoming special portrait theme is 'April Shower to May Flowers', portrait sessions with your little ones involving rainslickers, boots, flower hats and everything spring!  Again, details to follow.  This one is adorable, for boys and girls!

May-June  May and June we will again be offering our Love Letters that is currently going on.  We have had a LOT of interest in also offering these as Mother's Day/Father's Day gifts and we agree, they are perfect for the occasion!  Also included for moms - Mother/daughter portraits, a special featured specifically for the month of May.

All for now, and I want to hear from you!  Drop me a line, let me know what you think of this lineup for the spring.  We are excited about it and want to hear from you what you think!!

Studio J Photography News and Events!

I know it it has been a while since I have posted, and wow do I have a lot to share!  Before I talk about what is coming up, though, I want to backtrack a bit about the beginning of January. 

On January 9th we (Britten, my assistant) and I left for Phoenix, Arizona to attend a national photography convention.  The trip was so great for so many reasons- because it is THE convention of all conventions, not only it is awesome to see all of the new products, national speakers, and be warm and cozy in Phoenix, we also got to see and visit with friends that we only see once a year -usually at this convention!  We also meet many new friends, and then have that much more to share with them the following year.

This particular convention was also the convention at which I received my Photographic Craftsman degree from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA).  You may remember my post about it a while back.  The degree is given during a very motivational and momentous ceremony on the closing night of the convention.  Ladies are in gowns, men in tuxes and as your name is called you walk across the stage and your sponsor gives you your degree, you shake hands with the president of the organization and receive your certificate, it is very much like a graduation (but better!!). 

The emcee for the evening was a past president of PPA, Bob Lloyd.  To have Bob be the emcee meant a lot to me - you see, Bob and his wife Edna made it a point to know the photographers in their home state of Illinois, and knew my name before I even realized who they were.  The first time we met, they called me by name, so to have Bob announcing my name was a bit sentimental to me.

My sponsor during the ceremony was Jeff Dachowski of Manchester, New Hampshire.  I chose Jeff as my sponsor because in my humble beginnings, Jeff made it a point to email me words of encouragement, and his messages always came out of the blue when they were least expected.  Additionally, Jeff has always been encouraging, matter of fact, and straightforward with what I should and needed to be doing to reach the next level.  It seemed only fitting to have him as my sponsor for the event.

During the ceremony, they also give out an award called the Lifetime Achievement Award.  This award is a HUGE honor, and the title of it is an obvious testiment to what it means.  So here I am, sitting in the ceremony as a degree recipient, watching the awards ceremony, seeing this amazing award given out to none other than Anne Geddes, one of the most widely known photographers in the world!!  What a moment!!  IT WAS AWESOME to watch her acceptance speech, hear her voice crack as she talks about her humble beginnings and knowing where she is today, and to think I am even a small part of the whole evening.

And then, as soon as it seemed to start, it was over - and we were on our way home. The week was one of joy, excitement, anticipation, friendship and comraderie, good time and good discussions.  Taking a different route than planned due to the great snowstorm we had last week, thank goodness St. Louis was snow-free and we made it home!!  If you are on facebook, I have been tagged with a number of images from the event, so you can check them out there! 

At the end of last week we rescheduled appointments due to the excessively cold weather - I couldn't bear to ask anyone to get out in THAT weather and already we are here to this week and I cannot imagine where the time has gone.

There are a lot of fun things coming up that I don't think you want to miss - I am going to put it into the next post, this one is long already! 

Studio J Photography Valentines Day Special - Love Letters

Guess what we are doing for 2009?  Thinking ahead already to Valentines Day!

We are so excited to introduce to you our 'Love Letters', a one of a kind piece for that special someone in your life. Valentine's Day is a time to tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you, and that's why we're creating this personalized gift that is exactly what it says - a love letter.

 Our Love Letters piece features a custom image design with your image and a personalized letter from you.  The letter and image are featured side-by-side in a bound portfolio.  We are SOO in love with the Love Letter, I have to say we have already planned our own!

Here is an image of the Love Letters piece, plus a close up!

 

 

 

In addition to the Love Letters piece, we also have custom Valentines Day cards.  I have to say that I did custom Valentines Day cards with my daughter last year instead of buying them at the store and they were a huge hit!  Many designs are available, including some for boys!  These are postcard style and so cute~ let us know if you are interested even from a previous session!

 

We decided we couldn't do this without offering something more simple as well, so how about a 5x5 framed image?  You can use a Valentines Day design or an image only, but you have to admit these are adorable!  (More designs available also!)

Perfect for grandparents!  You can also pair one with a cute notepad with the same image for a great Valentines Day gift.

 

 

AND..... last but not least we have our very popular Dad's Desk image, a framed 4x10 with 3 of your favorite images! 

 

Please call us for more information on our Love Letters special.  Because this is so new and we are so excited about it, we are offering an introductory special on it, but you have to call us to find out~ and believe me, you want to.  :)

309-828-4200 or email at info@studiojphotography.net

Studio J Spokesmodels - Class of 2010

Get ready, get set.  We are now accepting applications for our Senior Spokesmodel program for the class of 2010!  If you think you have what it takes to be a Spokesmodel for Studio J, are outgoing and think you would represent our studio well, then click the link below and fill out the application!

Spokesmodel Application

Applications are being accepted until March 2.  Once all applications are received and the spokesmodels are chosen we will be having a meet and greet to go over the information about the program and set up sessions!

This program has been a HUGE hit the last few years, be sure to get your application in soon.  There are only a few positions open per school, based upon the size of your school!

 

Received the letter ....

I have a bit of news, which (to photographers) is really exciting. I wasn't sure if I should share it here, but a dear photographer friend of mine told me I HAD to blog about it, so here goes.

Yesterday I went to the mailbox and received a letter in the mail that I had been hopefully anticipating for a while.  It is pretty exciting, to actually have in in my hands!  Before I can tell you about the letter, though, I have to share what it is about...

For the last few years, I have been a member of the Professional Photographers of America, THE international organization of professional photographers.  Part of being in the organization is having the opportunity to put yourself out there and earn degrees in photography through the organization.

For the last year, I have been focusing on a particular degree from the organization and needed to obtain a certain number of merits (credits) toward education in photography.  1/2 of those merits HAD to be from teaching.  So, off on travels I have gone over the past year, taking me to Louisiana, Wisconsin, our Illinois state convention, New Hampshire and Maine, and a few classes at my studio which brought in photographers from as far as Florida.  Each class or program I have given has varied in length from 2 to 8 hours, the average being 4.  The other 1/ 2 of the merits had to be from receiving education, attending seminars or photographic schools, conventions and classes. 

By June of this year, I had all of the required merits to be eligible to receive my Photographic Craftsman degree this coming January.  I will be traveling to Phoenix, AZ to our national convention, walking across the stage with my sponsor, Jeff Dachowski of Manchester, NH,  and receiving my degree certificate and medallion from our PPA President Dennis Craft.  It's been an exciting year, and a bit of a whirlwind.  What is interesting about it is the teaching has not stopped there.  It's been quite enjoyable, and currently I have plans to be teaching in Tennessee and San Francisco this coming year, and am looking forward to it.

Back to the letter - yesterday I received the 'official letter' from another organization, the American Society of Photographers.  The letter was to invite me to join the organization.  What is so exciting is the American Society of Photographers is that membership is BY INVITATION ONLY (I am so excited!!).  Because I will be receiving my Photographic Craftsman degree, and you must hold a degree with the Professional Photographers of America, and be a member in good standing with PPA, I am also now eligible to be a member of the ASP.  Photographers that are invited to be a member of the ASP are considered the 'best of the best'.  I cannot tell you how honored I am to be among them! 

Needless to say, now the the convention is approaching quickly, and the letter has been received, I am getting nervous!!  Even after the teaching over the past year, walking across that stage in front of hundreds of people is even more nerve-wracking!  Yet at the same time, it's so exciting!!  

Baby and Child Portrait Contest

Get ready, get set!  Just wanted to give you a heads up that after the first of the year our annual Baby and Child Portrait Contest will be here!  More details to follow, of course, but for those of you that plan ahead, the time is coming.

Be sure to get on the list ! Just enter "Contest List" in the subject line so you don't miss important announcements regarding the contest as they come out!  You can also email us directly at info@studiojphotography.net !

 

Old is New Again

Occasionally we have a call for copy and restoration needs from clients that have special images that needs to be restored, or they have one last image in not-so-great shape and they would like to see it restored and need additional copies to share with other family members.

We do offer copy and restoration services, which is done at the studio by our web/computer person Wayne.  Wayne is our computer jack of all trades and does a great job bringing those images back to what you want to see!

With copy and restoration, it is important to remember that we do what we can to restore the image you bring in, and do the best we can with what we are given.  As with this type of service, each job is different and we will custom quote you the work before anything is ever done.

With that said, here are some sample images that Wayne has done in the past!

Holiday Open House

Thank you for your business and support this past year.  We invite you to celebrate with us this holiday season at our annual Holiday open house this Friday, December 5 from 6-9 pm.  Please join us for refreshments, and let's kick off the holiday season.  We have enjoyed having you in the studio this year, getting to know you, your children and families, posting your sneak peeks on our blog, enjoying your company, and we would love to celebrate with you!     Just stop by anytime, and m ake an evening of it- also, in downtown Bloomington Friday night is the monthly First Friday celebration with live window vignettes.  You can read more about the downtown celebration here.

$25 Gifts for You  Looking for a gift that will keep on giving forever?  We have gift certificates available for any amount.  During the open house only, we are offering an additional $25 in credit for each gift certificate purchased.   For example, a $100 gift certificate will earn you an additional $25, a $200 gift certificate will give you an additional $50.   Gift a friend and gift yourself in return!  Offer Expires: The $25 gift certificate credit must be redeemed prior to 6/1/2009, and for new sessions only.  The gift certificate purchase may be redeemed at any time.

Story on WMBD- Part 2

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, Part Two

Reported by: Meg Johnson- WMBD/WYZZ-TV

Tuesday, Nov 25, 2008 @07:03pm CST

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WMBD/WYZZ - SPECIAL REPORT -- When a family loses an infant child they are also robbed of precious memories. But a group of volunteers is helping to preserve those moments and create a lifetime of treasured memories.

Jackie Haggerty is a professional photographer based in

Bloomington

. She's turned her talent for snapping pictures of her own children into a flourishing business.

For the past 30 years, Barb Primm has followed her eye for the camera and her love for the art has grown into a respected studio in Germantown Hills.

Two busy women, connected by more than their passion for perfect portraits. They belong to a growing organization known as "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep."

It's an international web of professional photographers, who donate their time and their talent to families faced with the unthinkable; the loss of a new baby.

The non-profit group started back in 2006 with three compassionate artists who wanted to help grieving families. Now more than 6 thousand strong, these men and women are providing anguished parents with a beautiful tribute to a life lost.

Barb tells us, "It's a very different type of photography, very different. And not everyone can do it."

They travel to hospitals, day or night, to capture these brief moments between parent and child. They take the images back the studio, retouching and crafting these photos into beautiful works of art. The photographers say it gives the families something tangible to hold on to.

Jackie explains, "We'll never forget the child, but all of the details will fade. And they're so important. Even if you’re not ready to look at those images now, you have them for when you are ready."

It's the gift of these memories which drew Barb and Jackie to join the organization.

Jackie says, "I've been blessed with 4 children of my own. I think about the days crawling across the floor, or starting to walk, of wiping the drool off their chins and the opportunities I had to do that. And I thought about parents who don't have those."

Barb knows firsthand what that loss feels like and how important these images become. Her own granddaughter passed away at just 3 months old, days after barb had photographed her.

Barb reflects, "The memory is still there and will always be there. And it's been 7 or 8 years ago and I still think about her. A lot."

This unconventional practice has garnered plenty of criticism.

Barb says sometimes "people say how can you photograph babies like that? They say it's morbid, why would people want pictures like that? But if you talk to the families who been through it, they are thankful. And they do have a memory to keep in their hearts forever."

And it isn't always easy for the photographers to separate their emotions from the reality in front of them.

Jackie says, "This is what I’m here to do, and you do your job. It's after when it registers and everything comes back to you about what you just did."

But Barb and Jackie say their work is helping these families to heal and they say knowing the impact these pictures have is priceless.

Barb says, "Just to see how it touched them... She hugged me, and hugged me, and hugged me, she was so happy and has thanked me so many times."

Jackie remembers, "Kim (a client) said to me, 'I want to thank you because this was the one day I was happy. It made me happy.' And to know that one day gave her something good in such a bad time was more than I could ask to hear."