A session with MaryJanes and Galoshes Photography- behind the scenes

Baby Girl

I had my first maternity shoot yesterday!  It went amazing and I'm so excited about the images.  I wanted to share one of my absolute fave pics so far.  We love to not only take portraits, but make art with our clients.  Like this!

Behind the Scenes of MJ&G Photography

Ever wonder what goes into planning a MJ&G session?  A LOT! I  can't wait to show you a start to finish so you can see how it all plays out, but for now here are some planning stages of an upcoming engagement shoot. I like to get as many visuals down on paper as I can that way my assistant and I can have a clear vision together of what we are going for as well as keeping all my ideas as I tend to have super creative moments then go blank.  That's why all the best songs are written on napkins, right?

After the initial thought has marinated in my brain, I get out the ipad and bring up Penultimate.  I absolutely love and highly recommend the app for adults and children alike.  I create a notebook for the shoot and start gathering my thoughts and inspiration.  I Have a major plan for an upcoming engagement shoot so that's what I'm working on at the moment and sharing here.  Here are some screen shots of the notebook-

The Penultimate notebook is not shared with the client.  It's my place to write down things that will make sense to me and share things with my assistant. 

For a full concept shoot like this one, I also make up an inspiration board for the client to go off for choosing wardrobe.  It's hard for clients to visualize my words, these boards make it MUCH easier to get everyone on the same page.  Here is the client board for this session.

The props (the car, picnic basket, bench, ect) of course are provided by MJ&G.  The wardrobe board is of course flexible and meant purely for inspiration.

All of this work is done behind the scenes before your shoot which is what makes MaryJanes and Galoshes Photography so unique and custom for each client. 

I can't wait to share with you the actual session so you can see how things come full circle!

It's all about the sparkle!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Platinum Guild International USA for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

You have seen all the commercials lately on how the price of gold is through the roof and now is the time to bring in your old jewelry for some serious cash, but I bet you haven't realized how that may mean something completely different for those shopping for jewelry! I'm not a huge fan of yellow gold, naturally I fawned over platinum options when we shopped for my engagement ring ten years ago, but ten years ago it wasn't nearly as feasible as it is right now.

I know some of you are rolling your eyes saying "hello! recession?!" BUT hear me out.  No, not all of you are in the market for jewelry right now.  But I happen to be attending several 2012/2013 weddings and when it comes to bridal jewelry you have to think of investment.  What other thing in your life are you going to wear every single day for years to come?  NOTHING!

So what makes Platinum so feasible right now?  Yes, it's still more expensive than gold, BUT as the price of gold has risen, the gap between the price difference has closed and it's less of a stretch with a lot more bang for your buck to make the upgrade.

A few facts about Platnum-

• Platinum is a naturally white metal, meaning it will never fade or change color, or need to be dipped or re-plated.
• Platinum’s pure color means that it won't cast any color onto the diamonds or colored gemstones it holds, allowing the stones to shine brighter than in any other setting.
• Platinum is the densest precious metal (meaning it's strong, and will keep your stones safe and secure as well as hold up to all the wear and tear of everyday use).
• All of the great jewelry houses like Tiffany and Cartier only use platinum for engagement ring settings.
• Platinum loses very little metal to scratching or everyday wear; instead the metal is simply displaced on the ring’s surface, causing the ring surface to strengthen through work hardening.

I wish I had known these things when we purchased my husband's wedding ring.  He's in construction so his ring shows a lot of wear almost 9 years later.  Perhaps it may be time to consider making the upgrade.

If you are interesting in learning more about the benefits of Platinum check out precious platinum's "Why Platinum" section for tons of great information.

 

Win a Yard Makeover!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Now that the weather is warming up here in Wisconsin I'm having that  "I want a dream yard and garden" feeling.  Of course I never actually make it happen because 1. I'm just finally starting to learn about how to actually grow things properly (thanks to Dig Drop Done breaking it all down for me) and 2. (I always seem to forget this) I hate yard work!  I've been spending a lot of time on their site learning and preparing for a trip to the garden center.

You may remember me telling you about Dig Drop Done and the hilarious women there who are teaching me all about gardening (and specifically bulbs, because they are easy for people like me with no green thumb) in a way I can actually understand.  No boring gardening books here!  There are a few ladies on Dig Drop Done who teach you about bulbs and different ways to use them.  Each one has their own lifestyle and although my life is more like Marcy (shes the supermom), I'm a total Juliana!  I may not LIVE in the city, but I'm soooo not a dig in the dirt and get dirty kind of girl (and neither is she) but I do love the idea of growing my own beautiful arrangements to fill the house.

It was my first go to source this year as the bug hit and I remembered about planting bulbs indoors (because I live in a state that teases you with warm weather then hits to you with a snow storm, so I know better than to jump the gun outside).  As we speak I have a bulb planted in the window of my kitchen and I can not wait to see if I actually manage to grow something!

If you prefer to plant outside but are as clueless as I am as to where to start, to problem! Curbside Chaos has a Garden Guru tool to help you out.  After choosing your country, find your location and see what color it is.

 

Once it knows where you live you need to choose what month you want your flowers to bloom.  That way you can plant a variety of flowers that bloom at different times and have a constantly changing garden that always looks amazing with VERY little effort!  Each flower that comes up for the month you choose is complete with full instructions and color photos!  I happen to really love Hyacinths for their amazing fragrance!

 

As for the rest of the yard... perhaps I should try my luck in the Curbside Chaos contest to win a $5,000 yard makeover with @TaniyaNayak. It's the final month to enter, you have until April 15th.  Just submit a photo of your yard on to Curbside Chaos enter.

Want to give back?  For every share on Twitter "Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done." will donate $1.00 to Rebuild Together, the nation's leading nonprofit organization working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities. 

 

Ready to plant something?

visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more

Photo shoot, beach Maryjanes and Galoshes Photography

We are all about props, even if we have to build them ourselves.  See the rest of the shoot here.

Facebook Timeline

A bank page can be the most intimidating thing to a person.  Today I was faced with filling my new Facebook timeline header for my business page.  I'm sure it will change frequently, but this is what I decided on for now. 

What do you think?

DIY Nail Transfers

This morning I came across this image on Pinterest and fell in love.

I had also just happened to have gotten a new dark base color that I wanted to try out so off I went!  I tried using the floral colors with a toothpick to dab on some flower like shapes..... it was an EPIC FAIL!

Back to the drawing board.... I tried to look up nail transfers hoping to find these.  I have never purchased the transfers in the past because I feel they are overprices... but I loved these enough to give it a shot.  Couldn't find them.  The closest I came was another version on Mod Cloth that was out of stock.  BUT in the process I came across this video on making your own transfers.  It uses clear plastic to make your design on.  Which means I can set it on top of an image I like and attempt to trace paint it.  I googled for some images of vintage fabric and wall paper.  I think I will try some of these.

Here is the video.  I will let you know how it works out for me!