emotion

I've been thinking a lot about emotion the last few days.

I had the opportunity to photograph the birth of one of my good friend's second girl last week.  This is the sixth birth I have photographed this year.  I remember being really unsure if I wanted to photograph births for a long time.  Having never experienced this myself, I thought it might scare me away from having my own kids.

Luckily, it has done the complete opposite.  The experiences I have had this year photographing births have become some of the most special moments of my career.  

I know I write a lot about my business, but it is a huge part of my life.  I feel incredibly lucky to be where I am today.  Taking a GIANT leap of faith and pursuing my business full-time was one of the best decisions I've ever made in my life.  Not only have I made a lot more money, I've met some of the most amazing people.  I feel so lucky to spend some of the happiest moments of someone's life with them.

There is no question that I love photographing weddings.  I love love.  Emotions on wedding days are high and happy.  There are special moments that happen and I feel so privileged to capture those emotions on camera.

But there is something extra special about photographing births.  I am strictly an observer in these moments.  No directing or posing occurs.  I have witnessed emotions I'm not even sure the parents of the baby remember expressing.  

And let me tell you, it is one beautiful thing.

  

What I have been so lucky to witness is when someone is so overcome with emotion, it almost comes bursting out of them.  That moment, when nothing is withheld, is so incredibly powerful.  It only lasts sometimes for a second, before our voice inside our head tells us to compose ourselves, but oh, it is beautiful.

I completely believe that these are the moments that define our life.

The dad in the series of photos above inspired my thoughts.  You can see in the first photo how he is smiling, cheering on his beautiful wife.  Seconds later, when the baby was born, his emotions had completely changed.  He started to sob and was so overcome with emotion at the sight of his beautiful baby girl that you could hear it in his voice.  

When I talk about births to other people, it is really hard to explain how I feel about them.  There is no question that I am crying my eyes out behind my camera every single time that baby is lifted up and placed on mom's tummy for the first time.  They are one of the most miraculous things I've ever witnessed.  I can't even explain in words how incredible they are.  

I am so grateful to the couples who have let me be a part of that experience with them.  

.......................................................................................................................................................

Now here is my desperate plea... if you ever even considered for a second... even had a little "maybe I would like that" thought pop into your head, PLEASE hire a photographer for your birth.  I don't think anyone has ever regretted it.  I'm not even begging you to hire ME (although, I would love it if you did.)  You know how people say, "The happiest days of my life was the day I got married and the days my children were born."  

Yeah!!!  

You should have that documented!  

Oh it's so incredibly magical and wonderful and I don't even know how to express to you how important I think it is!  

Please, please, please.

Okay, I'm done.  :)

You can find my photography website here:

www.jtaylorphotography.com

Do you live in St. George?

I will be in St. George, UT from Tuesday, March 13-Thursday, March 15 if anyone down south would like to schedule a session. No travel fees will be charged since I will already be down there. Email me! jalenetaylor@gmail.com

love stories.

are you in the mood to read some beautiful love stories?

as many of you probably already know, i'm hosting a contest for free wedding day coverage.

you can skip on over to my photography blog, read some lovely stories and vote on your favorite couple!

it might be hard to pick a favorite, because they all are so great!

the couple with the most votes wins free wedding day photography from me!

i've loved this so much, that i think i'll be hosting it every year!

okay, click here.

LAST DAY TO ENTER THE CONTEST!

Please remember that today is the last day to enter the contest to win free wedding day coverage!

I need all stories before midnight tonight!  I will not be accepting any more after that deadline.

This has been such a fun contest for me!

Reading everyone's stories have been a blast.

I will chose finalists and notify everyone in the next couple of days.

Please watch your email in case I need more information from you before posting them on the blog.

Thanks again for participating!

Stay tuned for the finalists!

oh, looky there! a contest!

Today I am announcing a very exciting contest!

I, Jalene Taylor, am giving away  

full-day wedding coverage (disc included)

to one very lucky couple!

This is seriously a steal of a deal ($1200 value!)

Full-day wedding coverage!

EXCLAMATION POINT!

Okay, okay, settle down...

So you're probably wondering, "How do I get to be a part of this action?"

Well, are you engaged?  Almost engaged?  Nearly engaged?

Or maybe someone you know is engaged?  Tell them about this!  Because seriously...

You want them to win.

If you fall under that category this is how to enter...

Email me (jalenetaylor @ gmail... subject line-Wedding Giveaway!):

1. Location & date of your wedding

2. A photo of you and your fiance

3. Your love story (how you met)

I ask for your date and location because if your date conflicts with another wedding I have booked, I won't be able to include you in the contest.  Let's cross our fingers that DOESN'T happen!

And as a side note: I would absolutely love to travel, but travel costs are not included in the giveaway.  Let me know if you have questions about travel costs.

So here's how it works...

Submit your stories now through January 28.  That gives you a week and a half!

Lincoln and I will pick finalists.

I will then post one story (& the photo you provide) on my blog.

So make sure it's a good, well-written story (and truthful) because that's what people will be voting on!

Once all stories have been posted, I will open voting for a week and a half.

This is how you, your family, and friends can vote:

1. Comment on the blog post on my photography blog

2. Like the post on my Facebook photography page

3. Comment on the post on my Facebook photography page

4. Share the post from my Facebook photography page to yours

That is FOUR ways to vote!  Yes, that means each person can vote FOUR times!

Important note: You, your family, and friends will need to "like" my page in order to vote through Facebook.

And of course, the rules:

1. The couple cannot be under contract with another photographer (or myself).

2. Spread the word!  The votes are strictly from your friends, family, and associates!

This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time!

I hope a lot of people will participate, so start talking to all those betrothed people you know.

I hope everything is clear on how to enter and vote.  Please let me know if I can provide clarification.

Okay, are you ready?

GO!

Oh, and if you feel so inclined, you can share this contest ad on your blog and link back to my photography site if you want to help spread the word.

I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks!

embed the image with this link:  http://jtaylorphotography.com/2012/01/oh-looky-there-a-contest.html

merry christmas & happy new year!

i could sit here at talk about how i haven't blogged in 40 days but that would be completely boring and not worth your time.

it's been a while, eh?

and somehow i've gained more followers on my hiatus.  which is odd, because i tend to lose followers when i blog.  so we will see how this goes.

i'm not even sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore except my mom.

hi, mom!

but just in case, i will still update you on our mundane life.

it seems like everyone in the blogging world, and everyone in our circle of friends has announced within the last month that they are expecting a baby!  while this is super exciting and happy, it sure makes our life seem rather dull.  the pressure is also on like donkey kong!  for real, peeps.  lincoln is even more baby hungry than before.  i guess he likes to keep up with the joneses.

serious baby boom coming next summer.  maybe there is something in the water?

so everyone has super exciting things to blog about, like babies.  and all we have over here is work and school and eating and sleeping.  so naturally, there are much more exciting things going on other than here.

but just in case you're still reading, i'll tell you about something else!

so basically for the last... 4 months i have been burning my candle at both ends,

working my little tail-feather off,

balancing two full-time jobs.

and it has been HARD!

needless to say, i've been busy.

working full-time at a day job and running my photography business during every spare second of the day.  i've been extremely blessed to work with some fabulous clients during the fall.  it has been such a joy to have so much photography business to keep me sane.

at the same time, it was killing me to wake up and go to my day job.  i worked there for four long years, all throughout college.  i felt like i had reached my potential there and spending 40 hours there a week was making me miserable.  miserable!!!

again, i was so fortunate having so much photography business the 2nd half of the year, that i felt like it was a good time to pursue photography full-time.  this decision had been eating at me for months.  it was probably one of the hardest decisions i've ever had to make.  leaving something secure and familiar is extremely frightening.  but finally getting to pursue my dream career is extremely exhilarating!

some people did not agree with or support my decision, but after prayerfully considering it, my last day was thursday.  it was a bitter sweet goodbye.  i have made so many friends during my four years there and change isn't always easy.

but again, i am so excited and relieved to finally be pursuing my photography business full-time.  i have to thank all my fabulous blog friends who have trusted me as their photographer and helped me progress on this road.  i strongly feel like my quality of life will increase and i will be a much happier, pleasant person.  (good news for lincoln!)  i have so many plans and ideas for my business that i am so excited to implement.  i'm looking forward to not working myself to death.

so there is my life.  it's been a super stressful but exciting thing for me.

it's not a baby!  but that will come with time.

hopefully i will visit this blog more often now :)

give me some comment love to let me know you're still reading!

lindsay & james

please check out my beautiful friend, Lindsay, and her brand new husband, James, over on my photo blog today!

(click on the photo)

become a fan!

hey, friends!

i'm holding a very exciting (& fun) giveaway soon on my photography fan page!

i want all of you to be able to participate, so please go "like" my page.

click on the picture and it will take you there!

sometimes i shoot other things besides people.

shout out to all my blog readers who have hired me to photograph them.

seriously, peeps...

you are gems!!!

i could not do what i love to do without you and your support.

pssst...

keep 'em coming.  ;)



photography site here.

something new.

i did something new as a photographer...

and that was photograph a birth story.

even though these are super trendy now days,

i don't mind jumping on this bandwagon, because i find these experiences truly incredible.

i think photos from birth stories can be some of the most beautiful photographs i've ever seen.

i photographed my (kind of) first birth story about a month ago.

you can see the photos here.

and also view some more of my recent work 

here

here

and here.

let me know what you think!

hello, friends.

well, i've been working about 6 days a week as of late.

and so has lincoln.

i can't even remember the last time we sat down together and ate a meal.

5 days a week, i've been working my day job and then filling in photo shoots here and there on saturdays and after work.

sadly i wish it was the other way around... more shooting and less day job-ing.

so, hire me?  :)

here are some highlights of some shoots from last week.

i love love couples and weddings.

so so much!

just stopping by.

friday!

my last friday off in a LONG time.

and lincoln has to work, so i'll probably just do boring stuff.

more of our family has been affected by the storms.

my mother's cousin (lee allphin) was in the tornado in joplin.

watch their story here.

it is a miracle they survived.

and some of leah's family had terrible damage to their home in atlanta.

the devastation is so sad!

even though there are a lot of sad things happening right now, there are still a lot of happy things.

my childhood friend, justin, and his wife, emily, welcomed their identical twins in the world!

cade is on the left, and cole is on the right.

i had the pleasure to photograph their birth story... well, kind of.  she had a c-section, so i photographed them after.

aren't they perfect?  i stared at them forever with a smile on my face.  you just can't help it!

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

head on over to my photoblog today to see a maternity shoot i just posted.

also, i finally figured out my feed for that site.

i tried to transfer everyone over with feedburner, but quite frankly... feedburner... isn't awesome.

so please re-subscribe yourself using this address:

http://jtaylorphotography.com/feed 

and hopefully that will work.

thanks, friends :)

j. taylor photography special!

hello, friends.

i announced on my photoblog this morning a GREAT spring special (if i do say so, myself).

head on over here 

and check it out.

and to give you a little preview of the deal...

here are the ads.

hop on over to get more details.

referral incentive!

you may not be getting married, but you might know someone who is...

and that is good news for you because when you're having that conversation about wedding plans you can say, "hey!  i totally know a photographer you could use!"

and then if your friend books with me, you land yourself a 

to a selected retailer!

that's right, you get something out of this!

and this doesn't only work for wedding referrals...

i'm offering this referral incentive for ANY type of session.

so, please, start talking...

and get yourself some free money.

p.s. my website is really easy to remember:

jtaylorphotography.com

thanks, friends.

weekend.

friday was ABSOLUTELY beautiful here!

i even got a little sunburned, which was fabulous.

it felt so nice to have some vitamin D.

i had a nice picnic in the park with leah and beck.

and then i had a wonderful photoshoot with this beautiful girl:

more on the photoblog soon.

i was so excited about all the green!!  and the warmness!

and then this happened less than 48 hours later:

the sky needs to make up its mind.

check it.

yo yo yo!

check it out.

my photo blog is FINALLY up and running!

a few tweeks here and there and it will be golden.

geez, louise.  that only took me 3.5 months.

{photo from a wedding in january}

i'm working on the whole feedburner thing... i can't seem to get my subscription to work.

do you know?

it's all sorts of confusing to me.

but try subscribing to me... i'm not sure it'll work.  haha, but try!

model found!

thank you to everyone who contacted me for modeling tomorrow.

i was seriously surprised how many emails i got!

it was so hard to choose just one person.

i will most likely ask for models in the future... and probably in the NEAR future.

so stay posted.

really, thanks again.

you all are so great!

model needed!

are you available this friday at 3:00?

i need a model for portfolio building purposes.

i am looking for 

• a girl between the ages of 18-30,
• someone who is easy going and creative,
• someone who can bring a couple great COLORFUL outfits,
• someone who can style their own hair and make up,
• and someone who is willing to travel to the bountiful/salt lake area.

in exchange for your modeling services i will give you 20 fully edited images from the shoot.

if you are interested, please email me your info and a current photo of yourself.

jalenetaylor(at)gmail(dot)com

the shoot will take place THIS Friday, March 25 at 3:00.  i'm pretty flexible on the time, so email me your availability that day if 3:00 doesn't work.

*it looks like it might rain on friday, so this might be weather permitting...*

j. taylor photography

hey, people!

do you know anyone getting married this year?

are you getting married this year?

well, i decided to post a little promo action around here because i still can't get my photography website up and running.  (technology is frustrating).

i am now booking weddings (and/or any other shoots) for this year!

i just wanted to give a shout out since my schedule is filling up fast.

i've had many people talk to me about shoots they wanted this spring, so if that's you, please contact me so we can get you on the schedule!

the wedding promo i'm offering right now is an additional $75 print credit towards their All Inclusive Package ($1300). this will promo will go to the next two brides that book with me.  

 for a more complete list of pricing, please contact me through email:  jalenetaylor{at}gmail{dot}com

and here is some of my latest work...

from my very snowy winter weddings:

basically, i love my job!

i love taking photographs of people in love, happy families, and cute little ones.

please contact me soon!  slots are filling up fast!