Head on over to the new Facebook page and give it a big thumbs up to stay in the loop. Pass it on to some high schoolers if you’d like, too. I’d sure appreciate it!

Also, I’ve got some new pricing up over here on Jen Barnes Photo so feel free to take a look. I simplified and went a little more traditional route in pricing. I hope it helps communication between me and my clients!

Thanks for your time and I’ll be back with some images this weekend!

His curls were getting a little out of hand, so we gave him a haircut. Turns out the #1 guard is a little too short.

My oldest is off to kindergarten as I type this.  What a journey it’s been already.

I wanted to homeschool.  I still want to homeschool.  From the day he was born, I’ve wanted to homeschool.  I always said I would homeschool, so why aren’t we homeschooling?  In short, because my husband strongly feels that the best place for him is in a public school setting.  We keep to ourselves and don’t have many (if any) close friends.  (Now all my friends are going to get up-in-arms, but it’s true.  Our closest friends moved to Seattle 4 years ago and no one has come even close to being in our daily lives so spontaneously and continuously as they were while they lived here.)  This little man, he is a friendly happy dude.  He loves having friends.  He needs friends.  He thrives on friendships.  Homeschooling with me wouldn’t give him that at this stage in the game, and so, even though he has nearly learned everything they’ll need to know by the end of the year, he is going to kindergarten.  Maybe I will be able to pull him out of school later, maybe not.  For now, I know it was the right decision for him, and I’m so proud of him going off to school with his daddy.

It’s kind of humbling to post a picture of me here – no make-up, no shoes, barely woken up but I think it’s important for the little man to have a picture with his mommy.  Yes, mommy.  He tried to call me just “mom” but always slips back to mommy, and I love it.  Hopefully I can remember to take a photo with him, and eventually with each of his brothers, all on their first day of school each year, in front of our house

This past week, I decided to invest in my fledgling business by committing to take (and hopefully pass!) the Certified Professional Photographer exam in January.  It’s a big step for an infant-pro like myself, but I feel that it is an important step in setting myself apart from the masses of women who have a baby and then buy a DSLR and, ta-da!, call themselves a photographer.  In short, I’m hoping to prove to myself, my peers, and most importantly, you, that I am truly a knowledgeable and talented professional.  The exam has two parts and I’m equally excited and scared about both the written exam and the image submission approval exam.  This step comes in part from my research into what the label “professional” really means to both myself and the photography industry as a whole.

I recently read an insightful article by Scott Bourne about what it is that he, as a professional photographer, is selling.  He encourages those just starting out to re-think what it is we are selling, too, and I have to admit, he’s changed the way I’ve started thinking about my growing business.  In his words: “I am selling my years of practice and training, the amortized cost of my business license, my employees salary, my salary, my taxes, my professional service and association fees, my insurance, my expertise, my skill and craftsmanship, my good reputation, access to my studio and my gear, my ability to relax a subject, get on common ground with them, make a photo that is flattering and which tells the client’s story, process, edit, re-touch, proof and print that photo, the packaging, presentation, and archiving of that image – to name just a few of the things I sell.”

In other words, he’s not just selling 8×10′s.  There is a depth to his business that goes beyond the printed picture.  He goes on to mention the word “commodity” when talking about pricing and prints.  Wikipedia defines commodity as “a good for which there is demand, but which is supplied without qualitative differentiation across a market. It is fungible, i.e. the same no matter who produces it.”  and Mirriam-Webster as “a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price.” – Wow.  I can see why he warns against falling into the trap of just “selling prints” — the custom photography industry as a whole takes a hit.

I don’t want to fall into that trap.  That’s what department store portrait studios are for: prints (and that’s about it).  I’m not saying that there is anything wrong with department store studios; it’s just not my business model.  So with the above in mind, I have been re-thinking my approach to pricing.  The most common email I get is “What are your prices?”  ”How much are your prints?”  ”What do you charge for a disk of images?”  I know you want a good value – we all do.  But I also want to offer you more than merely a straight-out-of-the-camera $1.99 8×10 that took 2 minutes to take.  If that’s what you’re looking for, I recommend you head to the mall.

I want to create heirloom quality images of your family that future generations will look at with wonder as they contemplate the sheer love their ancestors had for each other.  I want to capture your very best and your most sincere expressions.  I want to get to know you and have that show in your images.  I want to bring tears to your eyes when you see your proofs and leave you speechless.  I want to remind you of how great you are; to give you unique artwork of your kids, your family, your memories … for you to share with your loved ones for the rest of time.

I am striving to provide the very best value I can possibly offer by continuing to expand my education, qualification, organization, and not become a commodity-driven business.  With that in mind, new pricing will go into effect July 1st (pending I get enough kidless time this summer to pull everything together).  I have not yet made my pricing public but I will have my new investment structure on the portfolio site on July 1, 2010.  (Can you believe it’s almost July already?)  I won’t say that I’m raising prices – or lowering them – but I am restructuring them.

As a side note, I have been working out of my living room for six months and finally feel the need to claim the toy room as my office, so I will be in a mess of moving soon!  Yes, it will only be about 20 feet away, but the room will need to be painted first and the internet situation figured out as well as desk/shelves relocated.  I desperately need to be able to close the door and take advantage of my husband having three to four weeks off as I gear up for family sessions this fall, which brings me to my closing thought:  I am completely unbooked for this fall! — If you know you want family portraits for holiday cards or gifts or if you’re having a fall wedding or need some gorgeous senior photos, claim your date now!  Just take a few seconds to fill out the interest form or call me at 512-553-5653.  September and October will be here before you know it!  I will be working through the end of November and closed for the month of December, so don’t wait too long!

I am finally free and seeking opportunities to second shoot!  I’ll even work for free!  Just feed me and let me give all my photos to you (I won’t even ask to use them for a portfolio) and I’ll cover my own gas expenses.  Photogs, if you’re looking for a second shooter, I’m willing and available!  Why’s that, you ask?  Well, here’s why:

My littlest guy is finally weaned.  I never thought I’d see the day . . . I mean, with kids, especially being a stay-at-home-momma, the days are long.  L-O-N-G, long.  But the months, the years, those are short.  I was pregnant for so long with this last little one (he was born 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) days late) yet it seems like just yesterday that we brought him home from the Austin Area Birthing Center, and here he is weaned!  Just like that.  It’s been an interesting experience.  Much easier than I expected.  Much earlier than I expected, but I am enjoying the exquisite freedoms this is giving me!

If you’re looking for someone to assist you or tag along on a shoot, please keep me in mind.  I shoot Canon and have a pretty basic equipment list but have access to some fantastic glass (all L except the 50mm) and bodies (ooo la la, I mean, camera bodies of course) with enough advance notice.

Call me at 512.553.5653 or shoot me an email, tweet, facebook message or comment below and I’ll be in touch.  (Give me a few days at least to get back to you in the month of May as I’m working on a major project with my alma mater (sic ‘em bears!) right now.)

One of my favorite things to do when the sun is long gone is hop on the computer and play around in photoshop. It’s how I learn. I know I spend way too much time up late into the wee hours and I usually don’t use actions but I couldn’t help it today. Sometimes you just need a quick fix. I know I shouldn’t show a before and after without posting the process but I couldn’t help but play with this recipe tonight. Amazing what they’ve got going over at Totally Rad Actions.

I’d love to know some of the ways you cope with the winter blues. What do you do when you’re missing the sunshine?

To help me out, please FILL OUT THE SHORT SURVEY I’ve created here. I’ll be ever so grateful for any input you can give me in this area. I want my package deals to rock. I want them to be jaw-dropping. I want you to be stunned when you get your orders. But to do that, I totally need to know what y’all are looking for in your custom photography. Thanks in advance.