Last father’s day weekend I had a chance encounter that would help to jump start those day dreams. I met another mom at photo shoot where we both had kids modeling. We started talking, she was a portrait photographer in Denver with a successful and fairly new business. I am not sure what it was about this special woman but for the first time ever I shared my own photography dreams with another photographer. She was so genuine and encouraging. The next day we did not have the opportunity to speak, but as she was leaving down one flight of stairs and I was going up another, she called out a goodbye and added, “Remember you can do this!” I thought to myself, this person and I crossed paths for a reason, it is time to make it happen. It is not everyday that you meet a person who so generously encourages another whom they do not even know. The photographer’s name is Pandora- yes I am aware of the symbolism of the universe sending me a woman named Pandora to jump start my dreams. Pandora is such a talented portrait photographer, creating vibrant warm images. She is the owner of Apple Blossom Portraits here in Denver. You can enjoy her work at www.appleblossomportraits.com. If you love her hire her! I know you probably think that sounds strange and until very recently the photography community was very closed with an attitude of ” You want to know what I know- go figure it out yourself” or ” If your my competition we will not be photography friends”. However this is starting to change and I hope to be a part of this change. Obviously, this is not what Pandora believed or she would not have encouraged me to open a like business 30 miles or so away from her own! As my very wise mentor ( whom you will meet in the next post) said to me at a workshop where there were photographers learning from her who had business just 10 miles down the road from her own, ” Janeen I can’t possibly photograph every single person in this town and surrounding towns!” and she turned to each one of them and said, “Can you or you?’” No, of course was the reply. This would be the first of many great lessons about community I would learn from her. Every photographer has a different unique style and it is so important when you are paying for custom photography that this style and experience is a fit for your family. So I will say it again, please grab a cup of coffee and take some time to enjoy the work of this talented Denver portrait photographer. Pandora, thank you for inspiring me and touching my heart in such a short period of time. I will forever be grateful!
Category Archives: Personal
Laura
It is true that I have never been lacking in the inspiration department regarding photography, I see beautiful images in my head of all the families and babies and kids I meet everyday. Not to mention my very own four sweetie pies- my greatest inspiration. When it came time to chose a family photographer to capture my children’s first sibling portrait, well lets just say they had to be extraordinary. I really needed to be inspired by their work. My youngest twins had a tough entry into the world that included NICU stays and at home O2 for the first year. So we were a bit too overwhelmed to arrange for those beautiful baby pictures we had taken with the first twins. This first family photo had to make up for that. You can only imagine what a tall order that was and how high my expectations were. I viewed hundreds of sites. Poured over thousands of images. At last, I found Laura Siebert, her images did not just inspire me they moved me. Laura is a nationally known portrait photographer, who has been published in numerous books, photographed many featured magazine shoots, has amazing personal projects and is a mom to two handsome boys. I have never seen another photographer with a style similar to Laura’s. The way she can capture family relationships, especially sibling relationships through the lens is such an extordinary gift. Needless to say our family photographs are stunning. Laura has been photographing our family for three years and we feel truly blessed. Laura was a great inspiration to me to finally start thinking about my dreams again. In way it is daunting when you see work of that caliber, you think – no way am I ever going to achieve that! That self doubt creeps in. The bottom line is we all have to use our own gifts and create our own art. So if you want to enjoy some truly special art please go to Laura’s website at www.eyesmilesphotography.com. If you love her hire her! You will have images of your children that will truly be a work of art and a classic, timeless family heirloom. Laura is very modest, works hard and quietly. I do not think she is even aware of how well known and admired she is. Thank you Laura for being such an inspiration and a beautiful person inside and out!
I know it is not officially a calendar leap year but it is definitely a personal one. I think I knew with absolute certainty from the ages of 12-19 that I was going to be a professional photographer. I grew up on a healthy diet of National geographic magazines in one hand and a professional 35mm film camera in the other. I took pictures of everything all the time and headed to college on a journalism scholarship. With visions’ of one day becoming an award winning photo journalist for National Geographic off I went into the world. On the way to that dream I ended up teaching college history classes, becoming a lawyer and a mom to four wonderful kids. I never stopped seeing the world through a lens, taking pictures in my head everywhere I went. I was always dreaming in pictures. When I finally started photographing again on a consistent basis I knew I could not let the dream slip away. I would modify the dream, as traveling the world with young twins and being hired by National geographic at the age of 37 seemed a bit unlikely! In 2006 as my kids approached their kindergarten year I started to reign in those day dreams and plan a portrait business. The universe had other plans… a second set of twins, and I went back to rocking babies and day dreaming. How would I make this dream come true? Well timing, it is everything as they say.
Hi, my name is Janeen and I am a professional portrait photographer . Welcome to my blog where I will journal my photography journey and post sneak peaks of images for clients from their portrait sessions. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello!