Baby Tatum

This is Tatum at only 7 days old. What an adorable little boy!

All photos were taken in natural light.

Steven's Senior Portraits

Steven is the high school quarterback, the basketball star, the baseball star...

This is part one of our two-part shoot, the next to come next week when the weather is better. We'll be doing the outside shots on Monday if there's no wind or snow!

He's planning on attending Arizona State University next year, but says sports are out since he played so many in high school and doesn't feel he was able to develop well enough in any one of them to continue on.

Good luck Steven, and good job!

The Cpl Joe McCarthy Foundation

I would like to introduce you to a Saint Johns 501(c)3 registered charity called The Cpl Joe McCarthy Foundation.

This organization provides many services for local children and veterans. I've been volunteering with the Foundation for several years and whole-heartedly believe in the services they are providing to the area.

The Foundation is currently trying to raise funds for a Veterans Memorial that will be placed in the County Complex next to the St Johns Public Library. They've almost met their goal and are very, very close to having all of the funds necessary to erect the memorial. Please visit their website where you can learn more, make donations and purchase dog tags that will be displayed inside a case at the memorial. You'll also learn about all of the other children's and veteran's programs.

The Foundation will be hosting Summer Fun in the Park on June 12th. This year's event replaces the past annual Spring Fling event usually held at the County Fairgrounds. There will be water events at the pool, carnival games in the park and new this year is the Soap Box Derby, which I will be leading. You can pre-register for the derby by stopping by my studio for only $15. Registration after June 4th is $30. Bring the kids down to the park on June 12th for Summer Fun!

Thanks for your support.

Matias's Senior Portraits

Matias is a graduating senior from Gallup, New Mexico.

It's refreshing to hear about a young man that is 20 years old and graduating from high school. Many would have given up long before and/or not gone back to finish up.

Good job Matias and good luck.

Merissa's Senior Portraits

This is Merissa! She's a beautiful young lady and the daughter of my hair doctor.

Senior Portrait season in St Johns has arrived in full force and it looks like it will be keeping me quite busy over the next several weeks until graduation.

Next up will be Matias, a young man from Gallup, New Mexico.

Family Portraits

I recently had another local family come in for portraits. That's the goal, right? Well, this young family has absolutely beautiful children and I wanted to share them with you!

I used to work with "mom's" sister a couple of years ago. Turns out, she's getting married soon and I hope to provide the photography for the wedding.

Anyway, let's talk a bit about family photography. While traditional, in-studio portraits are an excellent way to go, I tend to want to do something a little different.

I'm sure many of you have heard of "personal photography". This is what I enjoy the most when photographing families or even just the children.

Personal Photography involves me, the photographer, coming into your home for a day (or more if necessary) and capturing the life of the family, child or children. Even pets! I've provided this type of coverage in the past and produced some of the best portraits in this manner.

There is typically little or no staging of the shots, although the family may choose an activity that is not necessarily on the schedule, just so I can capture it. Families, children and pets are best photographed in their most natural, or comfortable, environment. Home! We can get meal time, play time, bath time, even bed time all in one photo session. Though it is a long day, it is very rewarding to build a real friendship with the client in their own home, hopefully a friendship that continues on after the session.

Aside from the standard prints that are usually ordered, coffee table-style books are becoming ever more popular. These books can be designed in so many ways; sections to include the family together, each child separately, the pet or pets.

I'd love to be YOUR personal photographer. As always, my consultations are free, so give me a shout and we'll plan your family day!

Funny Bunny

Our first Easter Bunny shoot was an amazing success!

Apparently, the Easter Bunny has not visited St Johns in many years. We had hundreds of kids, adults and even pets stop by to say hi, get their picture taken and get their chocolate.

It will be our goal next year to have the Easter Bunny in the park along with easter festivities. We may also visit Round Valley!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by. We appreciate your support!

The Easter Bunny is Coming!

That's right. The Easter Bunny is coming to St Johns.

Keep an eye out this week. He'll be hopping around town and just may show up where you work. He'll have his basket full of treats to share with you.

On Saturday, April 3rd, he'll be in our studio from 2pm to 6pm and Sunday, April 4th from 10am to 3pm for photos with the kids, pets and adults alike!

Stop on by. Bring the whole family for a picture. When was the last time you got to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap?

Hop, uh, I mean HOPE we see you this weekend.

Infant Photography

Today, I'm going to discuss newborn and/or infant photography.

I adore children, and the younger the better! The innocence of a child is unbeatable.

This is an area of photography that I'd love to specialize in, as stated in the previous post. Capturing the first professional images of a newborn are so important to the journal of life. You'll always return, no matter how old you or your child become, to those first photos.

I personally recommend that you have your newborn's photos taken within the the first 2 weeks after birth. The baby sleeps most during this time, is easier to photograph, and truly captures the "newness" of his or her life. Plus, baby "acne" starts to develop after about 2 weeks. This can be removed easily from the photos if you choose to have the photos taken after the skin problems arrive.

Although the photo I've used for this post shows a clothed infant, I suggest that the photos be taken nude. (The baby of course!) Clothes on an infant are unnatural and usually are too big and awkward. Besides, nothing else defines the true innocence of a child. The baby will be positioned and posed in a way that does not "expose" them or exploit them.

It is also nice to take the pictures in a natural light environment. I have a large picture window in the gallery of my studio with northern exposure that is perfect for this. I will also be happy to come to your home or other favorite location to take the pictures.

I prefer not to use many props for infants and newborns, but do occasionally use some simple props, such as towels, baskets, blankets, hats, etc. If you have props you'd like to use, just let me know. I can make them work.

All of the photos will be taken in color on a high-resolution digital camera, but will also be presented to you in black & white as well as a sepia tone.

Don't be afraid to order large, wall-sized prints of your newborn (16x20 or larger). I can assist you with framing and placement of your new art in your home. I'll come to your home, take measurements and consult with you about color and placement at no charge.

I hope you all are having a wonderful day.

Until next time...

Sean

I'm Back!

Well, it's been a long time since I've blogged and I promise I'll try to better in 2010.

Let's start off with what's been going on at Artistic Journeys Photography over the past year.

I've expanded the business by opening a studio in Saint Johns on November 1st of last year. After exhibiting at the Apache County Fair, I received much feedback from the community suggesting that I open a studio. So, after a couple of months of pondering those suggestions, I began looking for studio space.

I had originally wanted to open my studio in old Downtown Saint Johns. It's full of great, historic buildings that are vacant and I really want to see the old downtown revived. Unfortunately, there's a reason all of those old buildings are empty. They're not exactly structurally sound. So that obviously wasn't going to work.

Next, I looked at another historical building, which is actually a home and as it turns out, was the home and studio of the first professional photographer in Saint Johns. The home needed a bit of work to get ready for my occupancy and this may have been a little more than the current owners wanted to take on at the time. So this didn't quite work out either.

Okay...let's cut to the chase. I found a space in a brand new building right in the center of town next to the Post Office. I got a great deal on the rent, made some quick improvements on the space and moved in just in time to meet my own deadline for opening on November 1st.

Business began great! I had many bookings right off the starting blocks and took some pictures of some great looking kids and families just in time to get the pictures into their Christmas cards.

I've also covered several weddings in the past year. I love covering weddings! It's a ton of work, but capturing that big day full of emotion is the best.

New to my portfolio is athletic coverage. I've found this to be way more exciting than I first thought and I owe huge thanks to Todd for suggesting that I try it. I focus on the high school varsity teams. I was approached by a local magazine (The Sports Zone) to contribute my photos to their publication. I've got my press pass now and have taken some amazing shots of these kids at their best. I'd actually like to take my sports coverage further and make this a specialty. Sports Illustrated would be nice! I still have a lot to learn about sports photography before that'll ever happen, but I'm trying.

I've also found that Senior Portraiture and newborn photography are my favorites. Gosh, it seems like I have a lot of favorites! I guess I just love taking pictures.

We're bringing the Easter Bunny to Saint Johns this year and will hopefully make this an annual tradition. It came up on kind of short notice, so I haven't had a lot of time to make a great plan, but I'm going to take it to a new level next year (I hope) and turn it into a community event that the kids and their families will look forward to. This year, we're just going to hop around town and visit local businesses. Then we'll open the studio for a couple of days for photos with the kids, pets and whoever!

So that's the year in a nutshell. I'll try, like I said before, to return to the blog on a regular basis this year. For now, let's try a weekly update with sports and portraits sessions!

Until next week...

Sean