Sneak Peak

I also had to share a few favorites from another session from this past weekend of another co-workers daughter.

Gavin : Sneak Peak!

Just photographed a co-workers new baby boy Gavin over the weekend. Just wanted to share two favorites! More to come soon!

Halloween Cupcakes : Personal

I really enjoy baking, especially around the holidays! I made a bunch of halloween cupcakes last year and wanted to make some again this year. I made about 100 cupcakes yesterday and here are a few of my favorite frosted ones. Yes i had to make one with my logo... the color of sprinkles was perfect however my recreation was a little less than perfect but hey, it still tasted good! :)

What makes your day? : Personal

This morning I got an email from a co-worker at my full time job. We do not work in the same department but he has a real passion for photography and nature as do I. Reading his email really made my day! Dave I hope you don't mind that I posted this.

"Jaime,
I visited your blog this morning to see what’s new. OMG!!!!!!!!! What fantastic work you are doing. It just keeps getting better and better and better. The latest stuff just blows me away. The wedding photos and senior photos are just fantastic. I can’t imagine how you get people to turn into movie stars, but that’s just what you do. I have never seen wedding and other photos like them, and your sister, you’re going to turn her into a star!
I think what also really clicks for me is that most of the work is outside in the most beautiful surroundings. Your subjects are so at ease and natural. You get them to relax and really show the dreamy love that they have for each other and for life. It shows your appreciation for it also.
How very precious those shots will be to them when they look back at their beautiful sparkling youth many years from now.
I also found your house hunting narrative interesting. Interesting that you wound up with your first choice. Good things do come to those who wait…….sometimes. I love houses and home and am in the process of restoring my boyhood homestead……….finally I’m home. Finally home, never felt home before. It makes the hard work easy…….labor of love.
Go girl, honestly your work will make you famous and the world will beat a path to your door!
Dave"

Thanks Dave, It's very reassuring that people enjoy the work I do! :)

What a week : Personal

What a week this week. Dad had surgery on his shoulder tuesday morning, thankfully he is doing well, very sore, but his surgery went well! And yesterday my cat Hunter was rushed in for emergency surgery due to a urinary blockage. He made it through surgery and through the night but we are still waiting to hear if he's progressing. Poor thing is only four years old. I hope he gets well soon. He will be spending another night at the vet's office. :(

DVD with rights : SALE!

For anyone who had a session with me prior to 2009 I am offering the DVD with rights at a discounted price! The DVD includes all edited images at full resolution and includes the rights for personal use. Meaning you can make all your own prints, use them for slideshows or making your own albums. These make great Christmas gifts!

Portrait Price: $299 (regularly $799) a savings of $500!
Wedding Price: $599 (regularly $1499) a savings of $900!

For a custom DVD case featuring a photo on the cover add $45



For more information or to order please email me at jaimesphotography@yahoo.com

This is a one time offer for sessions prior to 2009 so hurry! Offer ends December 15, 2009!

Naomi's Country Girl Shoot : Portraits

Was just in the mood for shooting one day so my sister volunteered to model and her friend volunteered to be my assistant. Thank you to Sapowsky's Farm for letting us use your hay field and thank you to Dickinson's Farm for letting us use your corn field.

Some of my fav's. to see more go to www.jaimesphotography.com/naomi

Overwhelmed with a chance of Oh My God what did i get myself into!?

Ever since I was in high school one of my biggest goals in life was to buy a house on my own. Never did I think that I would really ever reach that goal. I always assumed that by the time I was ready to buy a house and move out I would be engaged or married. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be buying a house, moving out, and living on my own with just my cat Levi at the age of 24. I have to admit it's been a bit of a stressful process looking at houses. I started about a year ago I would say but was not really all that serious about it at the time, I would just look up houses online and at the time I assumed I would only get approved for $100,000-$120,000 on my own so most of the houses I was looking at were located in Springfield. Now being such a country girl and living in such a small town my entire life... the thought of living in Springfield on my own was a pretty scary thought. So I put the looking on hold for a while. It wasn't until this July that I decided I wanted to go and get preapproved and find out what price range I could actually look in. Well to my surprise I was approved for more than $120,000 and I was told that for a person my age I have excellent credit... It really pays off when you pay your credit card bills on time and in full and I was also able to pay off my car loan 2 1/2 years early and my personal loan for the business was paid off in 5 months! :) I don't like being in debt so I aimed at paying those things off ASAP. Well anyway back to houses. I started seriously looking in August of this year and I seriously looked hard! I dragged my parents out with me to look at about 30 houses in a month and 1/2's time. I think we were all getting sick of looking at houses but I really wanted to get that $8000 tax credit! Huge help!

So in August I put in an offer on the 4th house I saw. I absolutely loved it. It had a great yard, was located in a nice town on a quiet street and was 10 min to work. It also was 3 min from my aunts house, 5 from my uncles, and 15 to my parents and on top of it... not much further out for my photo clients to travel to. Well to make a long story short, it was a forclosure and I got into a bidding war with about 30 other bidders and lost to a lower cash offer... even though my offer was over asking price. I was pretty bummed. The layout, location and age of that house did not even compare to the others I looked at!

So a couple weeks later I put an offer on a house in Chicopee near my moms cousins house... they were not willing to come down in price enough, and i was not so crazy about the layout of the house and the kitchen needed some major updates... however the location would have been worth it. So this house did not work out either.

Maybe a week after that I put in an offer on another house. This one was in Ludlow. Good size house... funky layout however but great yard and location... They were not willing to come down at all in price either. They were at a firm $175,000 and I can't afford that on my own... bummer on to the next one

There was another house in Chicopee near Comp but they would not come down in price either... was hoping that the fact that my family new them a bit would help but no. Oh well... still did not quite compare to the first house.

Then I put in an offer on a house in Aldenville Chicopee, great layout, nice yard, walking distance to my grandmothers and 4 big bedrooms with big closets. Well seeing I put in my offer 3 days after it went onto the market they weren't willing to come down in price either. :( huge bummer

By this time i was starting to get really discouraged and I know people say they've looked for over a year but I really didnt want to lose out on that $8000 tax credit. Well luckily my dad sort of became my new real estate agent in a way and contacted the listing agent of the first house I put an offer on. He was pretty persistant. But to make this really long story a little shorter, the original offer fell through, the house went back onto the market, I made my offer a second time, got into another bidding war with about 15 people this time, the bank countered my offer and I accepted! :) I am currently in the process of purchasing the house hoping to close the first week of November and hoping to move in before December. It's been quite a roller coaster of emotions. I'm really excited to be moving into my own place on my own for the first time ever but at the same time extremely nervous! Things may be a little tight for a while but I am excited to start this new journey.

I just started packing a bit this week and it is a very overwhelming process. I really dont even know where to start. I have sooooo much stuff! But while packing I became a little sad. I am excited to start this new journey but at the same time I'm a little sad to be leaving home and everything I am so used to. It will take a little getting used to but I think it will all work out just fine.

Once I close and progress starts I will be sure to post some photos of the house now and once i get settled. :) But for now... a picture of some packed boxes and an empty dusty bookshelf.

Gina & Brennan : Trash the Dress

Gina and Brennan are another non married couple who volunteered to be my models for a trash the dress shoot... they were also my models for an engagement session I did back in February to expand that area of my portfolio for an upcoming bridal show. You can see those here Thank you guys for being such sports and getting into the cold water on a chlly day and being up for getting a little risqué I love how they came out.
I also want to send out a big thanks to Sapowsky's Farms for letting us use their corn fields and Shabby Sheep for letting us use their tire swing. :)
A bunch of my fav's. To see more go to www.jaimesphotography.com/gina&brennan

Debby & Mark : Married!

Debbie is a close family friend and is the mother to my sisters close friend and the aunt to two of my close friends. I have known Debbie for quite some time now and it was a real joy to attend her wedding on Labor Day weekend and to help her nephew Ryan, a close friend of mine from high school, photograph her wedding. The weather was gorgeous and so wasn't she! Her dress reminded me very much of the white dress Marilyn Monroe wore in the famous portrait over the steam vent. Debbie and Mark looked so incredibly happy and in love on their wedding day and I am super happy for the two of them.

Debbie and Mark, thank you for letting me be a part of your special day! I wish you both the best of luck and happiness for years to come. :)