Jennifer Imus Photography » Blog

Saint-Onge Family Portraits – Orange County Photographer

Friday, December 2, 2011 12:25 pm

(To see all images, go to the slideshow here).

I LOVE when I get to see families year-after-year and I can see how the kids are growing. You will probably remember this family from last year. Remember this little munchkin?

Well, I couldn’t believe how much she has grown in one year! Not only is she bigger, but her personality has just blossomed! Last year, it took a while for her to warm up to me and it was much harder to get her to laugh. This year, she was so fun! She talked to me about Minnie Mouse and her best friend, Lamby… She held my hand while we were walking… She was an absolute joy!

This is her now… all smiles!

She loves to dress up and get her picture taken!

Oh, and she found some pine cones that she loved. She kept smelling them and said they smell like chocolate (even though her mom said she’s never even had chocolate!)

I took more shots on this shoot than I have in a long time – this family is just so darn beautiful!

She loved decorating the mini Christmas tree! She especially liked the little gingerbread man ornament I had. Of course, it’s hers now… how can you say no to that face!!

You can their love for each other and for this precious little girl!

Thanks Saint-Onge Family! Here’s your slideshow!

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Alzheimer’s Memories – Orange County Photographer

Sunday, November 27, 2011 12:40 am

One of the worst things a family can go through is when a family member falls ill. And whether that loved one is physically, emotionally or mentally ill, it takes a toll on everyone in the family.

Most families go into survival mode — you try to take care of what you have to TODAY… because sometimes thinking about what the future holds is too scary, painful or just unknown.

As many of you know, my Mom passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease last year. She was symptomatic with the disease probably five years before she died, with the last two years being the worst. And I went into that mode of dealing with the emotions, learning everything I could about the disease, trying to understand what she needed most at whichever stage she seemed to be in.

I thought a lot about her dying… what I would feel, how I would tell my children… but one of the things I never thought to do was to take professional pictures of her – with my kids, with her family, with ME. It wasn’t even on my radar screen. And by the time I did think about it, she was dying… and I didn’t want to remember her like that. I wanted to remember her living — the sparkle in her eyes, the smile she got when she saw her grandchildren playing, the way she looked when she laughed.

I am passionate about fundraising for Alzheimer’s and doing what I can in the search for a cure. But until then, I know that there are many families dealing with the day-to-day care of someone with Alzheimer’s… and I’m sure preserving memories by having professional photos taken is probably not a priority.

I want to help.

If you or someone you know is dealing with a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s, you can send me their/your name(s) through the contact button on this page. I’ll be giving away a limited number of complementary portrait sessions to help document the beautiful, vibrant life they are living NOW. Because now is really all any of us has.

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The In-Camera Workshop with Zack & Jody Gray

Thursday, November 10, 2011 8:56 pm

Have you ever attended a class or workshop where you were almost jumping out of your seat wanting to put into practice what you’re being taught? That is EXACTLY how I felt when I listened to Zack & Jody Gray talk about lighting this past weekend at their In-Camera Workshop in San Diego. The focus of their workshop was off-camera lighting and how to use strobes to get dramatic, crazy-beautiful images.

I’ve never attempted the use of a strobe, mainly because the entire concept seemed so difficult and complicated. That and I HATE using flash in my photography, so I just stayed away from any off-camera lighting as much as I could. The whole idea of mixing natural light with flash just seemed… wrong. And being the lighting novice that I was, I lumped everything that wasn’t “natural light” into “flash”. And I am really happy to be proven wrong.

I was already familiar with Zack & Jody from their incredible photography. But what I wasn’t expecting was how GREAT they are at teaching. They have a gift for taking what appears to be a complicated topic and explaining it in a way that makes sense. After only a couple of hours of classroom instruction, we were outside setting up our own lighting pattern to shoot one of our models. And the first shot out of the camera for all of us was PHENOMENAL.

Check out these images…

Zack & Jody have this incredibly refreshing way of looking at photography – not just in technique, but in how they view it as a profession. They don’t see themselves as “celebrities”, they know where photography fits in their lives (it doesn’t define them), and have a incredibly passionate (yet realistic) love affair with photography. It’s inspiring to say the least.

That, and they are two really cool peeps to hang out with!

Thanks Zack & Jody! You guys rock!

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