Hi Peeps.
vividity has a new blog. Here’s the URL: www.vividity.com.au/blog
Please update your feeds and subscriptions.
Oh, and while you’re here, click on the link above and check out the new one! And tell me if you find it easy to use, or if there are ways it could be better.
Check ya over there!
love,
Jen.
Filed under Uncategorized
Happy birthday to me
Happy birthday to me
New Olympus OM Dee-ee
Happy birthday to me.
Image from Techspot, where you can read a review, if you like.
Does anyone know how to create an emoticon with a grin the size of the Cheshire Cat’s?
Filed under cool stuff, gear
From your side of the firewall, it might look like things have been pretty quiet here at vividity. Well…. I must admit, I have been enjoying a slightly slower pace in my ‘baby’ boy’s last year before school. It hasn’t all been paper aeroplanes and lego, though! I’ve been beavering away on behind the scenes kind of stuff, getting ready for things to take off in my Sydney-based portrait photography business once my boy is settled into school next year.
One thing I have done is revamp my product range. I’ve improved and simplified, making things much better, tighter, more cohesive. One new “product” I’m considering is a “bestie session”, and I’d love some feedback on it. To that end, I’m calling for models. Here’s what I’ve got in mind:
BFF Session:
That’s over $1800 value, but I would only charge $1000…. so across four of you, that’s only $250 each! And for the first group of BFFs to book in, I’ll do it for half that again ($500), only $125 each assuming there are four of you. Now there’s a bargain!
It’s first come first served, so phone your friends, and then one of you phone me lickety-split to organise your session. (Click “contact me” at the top of the blog for my phone number.)
These sessions suit BFFs of any age. You might be as young and gorgeous as these guys:
Or as grown up and beautiful as these:
Or you might be in your retirement!
And…. a little treat for those of you who have read this far…. I’ll let you in on why I think a bestie session is a good idea: Here’s one of the best photos I have of me and my three best friends together. I’m the one second from the left, with baby number two almost ready to be born.
Not the best image, is it? Wish I could do it over with a professional!
Filed under BIG kids, call for models, competitions and special offers, kids
I know with a title like that you’re probably expecting an inspiring list of Christmas wishes (like world peace and an end to famine, etc. etc.) Well you’ll be disappointed. I’m going to be selfish… again!
I was asked a while back what I would do if I had some money given to me with the proviso that I could only spend it on myself. Not my kids. Not my husband. Not my house. And most certainly not my business. I could only buy something that was purely for me. Complete self-indulgence.
And I couldn’t answer.
I spend some of my time teaching yoga*, and I tell all the parents I teach that one of the best things they can do for their kids is look after themselves, and yet I couldn’t answer a simple question about what I would do for myself if money were not an issue. I have become the proverbial ‘eater-of-the-burnt-chop’ kind of mother that I urge other mothers not to become.
Hypocrite!
Anyway, I was in the city with my daughter yesterday, and I realised how much I hate shopping, how bad I am at it, how stylish so many of the people around me looked, how sorely the shoes I was wearing needed replacing — (in fact they needed replacing before my youngest was born. He’s now four years old.) — how much choice there was in the stores, how much money was changing hands, how decadent it all was, how easy it would be to just hand over the credit card over and over and over….. and end up with a heap of stuff that was neither necessary nor suited to me, and — aha! — I knew. If I had to spend some money on me and just me, then one thing I would like to do is spend some time with this lady:
A couple of hours with her in the stores and my wardrobe blues would be solved!
She’s the stylist I recommend to my clients when they tell me they need some help planning clothes for their shoot. She’s practical, fun, lovely, non-threatening and superbly able to help you make the most of your clothing dollar. I reckon she could get me in and out of the shops in record time with a better result than I could get in weeks and weeks of boring traipsing around on my own with kids in tow. Given that the shopping gene seems to have gone missing somewhere in the evolutionary history of my family, getting in and out of the shops quickly sounds like a great idea!
Have a look at Paula’s testim0nials page. She doesn’t try and change anyone. If you’re a “barefoot and blue jeans kind of girl”, then you still can be… albeit a more stylish one.
*My yoga teaching is currently on hold until my youngest child starts school, and I have some more daytime availability.
Filed under Uncategorized, wish list, yoga
Just because it’s that time of year (Ho! Ho! H0!) and just in case anyone’s actually reading (hint, hint, hint)…. these are the ones I reckon would be my preference:
I did a post on them a while back. They have some great colours to choose from. The Kelly Moore bags look good, too.
But actually, a new camera bag is pretty far down on my list of gear to buy for my business. So many other things to covet!
(Photo from the Jo Totes website.)
Filed under cool stuff, gear, wish list
Has anyone found the perfect camera bag? Don’t think I have yet. They can be great for protecting gear, but too bulky and difficult to manage. Or just plain ugly. Sometimes they’re pretty, but not great at protecting your gear. Or great to carry while you shoot, but not big enough to hold everything you need to carry…. (which is a lot more than just camera gear!). Could this be the answer?
It’s the “Tote and Shoot” from shootsac. Check ’em out if you’re in the market for a new camera bag…. or perhaps looking for a Christmas gift for the photographer in your life. (Hint, hint!) Though I reckon you’d probably need to own a shootsac to put inside one of these babies, just to make sure your gear was really protected properly. (I must admit, my current camera bag certainly gives GREAT protection for my camera gear…. and in the end, that’s more important than the look of the bag. Way more. $$$$ more, really!)
Love,
Jen.
PS: Picture from the Tote and Shoot by shootsac website.
Filed under cool stuff, gear, wish list
You might have noticed I’ve been MIA. That’s “missing in action”, folks. It’s been crazy here, and will be for a little bit longer yet…. so if you’re talking to me and I start trying to photoshop spots off your face, or retouch a crumb from the corner of your mouth, would you please give me a swift slap and tell me to stop?
Thank you.
Still, there’s some fun to be had…. like the fun I had with this little guy. How could you not? Look at that face!
His mum and dad were great fun, too. The kind of people I love to just hang out with: relaxed, easy-going, and up for a good chat. I hope you like this sneak peek, guys.
Can’t wait for you to come and see your whole gallery.
love,
Jen.
PS: Gotta gets me a new blog…. watch this space in the new year….
Filed under families, kids, sneak peek
….and yet I succumb each year now. The nagging. The peer pressure. They have won.
Here are the kiddos this year: Black cat and Vampire. (“What’s a vampire, Mummy?” “Something quick and easy to pull together, my son! Something quick and easy.”)
And I discovered I can paint faces. Who knew?
PS: To my pleasant surprise, Halloween was whisper quiet around here this year. The only trick-or-treaters we had were the kids from next door, unlike the last few years where we’ve had so many kids (and some of them way too old to be trick or treating in my opinion) that we’ve all but run out of treats. I’m not a party-pooper, though. Really, I’m not.
PPS: For a softer view of how Halloween has come to be part of our lives now, take a trip to this post on Tummy Mountain’s blog. I think I’m just a cranky pants!
Filed under kids, miscellaneous, my own
Millie’s peeps, at last.
Thanks Millie for letting me have such a great time with your people!
I only have two (yep, just TWO) more portrait sessions available this year, so click here if you’d like to make a booking!
Meet the gorgeous Millie. Only weeks old and already the leader of the pack at her house! I’ll introduce you to her people soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this little black bundle of shoe-chewing, mischief-making fur.
Filed under families, miscellaneous
vividity 