October 2016 Photo-A-Day

Day 1 - Yellow. Day 2 - Blue. Day 3 - Purple. Day 4 - White. Day 5 - Red.

Day 6 - Green. Day 7 - Grey

Day 8 - Orange. Day 9 - Pink. Day 10 - Black. Day 11 - Aqua. Day 12 - Brown.

Day 13 - Gold. Day 14 - Silver.

Day 15 - Favorite Color. Day 16 - Rainbow. Day 17 - Tree. Day 18 - Positive Vibe. Day 19 - Food. Day 20 - Right Now. Day 21 - Stuff.

Day 22 - Chocolate. Day 23 - Wish. Day 24 - Blank. Day 25 - Together. Day 26 - My Country.

 Day 27 - Leaf. Day 28 - Spoon.

Day 29 - Fashion (missed). Day 30 - Star. Day 31 - Bucket List.

Follow me on instagram @justjinny.

W is for...Woo-woo free

Day 23. Favorite instagram editing apps/ or editing tools for your blog

UUUggghhh..I thought about skipping today. I don't get all fancy woo-woo with my photo posting. I use whatever Instagram provides for editing and it seems to work pretty well. I don't have a favorite, really. It just depends on the photo I'm posting..is it outside or inside? Bright or dim? Is there a lot of color? Most of the little editing I do is to try and enhance the photo. Sometimes I don't use any editing.

But, with all that being said, there are a couple of Instagram filters that I default to...

Amaro

X-Pro II

Tyra Banks would be so proud

Even though my first attempt at booking a photographer did not go over well {catch up here}, I couldn't stop thinking about how much I wanted family photos. Our dogs really are our family and they aren't getting any younger. I just felt it weigh on my mind that it was important to get it done as soon as I could. So I hesitantly reached out to another photographer. She responded back to my initial email very quickly, which was good, but the same as the photographer before. I was still on the fence so I sat on it for a few weeks to think about it. When I finally decided to bite the bullet and book the appointment she and I arranged for me to drop off the {non-refundable} session fee at her home. Now, that was much different than before where I left the money at some random downtown business that had nothing to do with photography. I had the chance to meet her face to face and love on her animals (which went a long way in soothing my nerves).

I asked her to please just hold my hand because I didn't have a very good experience before. She seemed eager to not repeat the mistakes of the first photographer. Over the next month and a half, I would text her several times and..guess what...she always got right back to me. Imagine that! It's the little things, people. The time and place of the appointment were a little loosy-goosy. And, to be honest, it made me a little nutso. We didn't know exactly where we were going to meet her until a few hours before the actual appointment. However, I was able to cope with that because she was still communicating with me...it really made all the difference in the world.

The appointment went great! Even with the wind blowing my hair all over the place and the clouds rolling in to hide the sun for the first 30 minutes of the appointment. The dogs were..dogs. lol. They actually did very well, especially being off their leashes. There were stickers in the grassy area we were using and poor Lola was acting like a diva princess and looking at me with sad eyes, holding up one paw. I could almost read her mind, 'Why aren't you picking me up?! There are pokey things down here!' Duke doesn't really like the camera anyway, add in another dog being walked, and well..he made us work for his picture. I was jumping around making high pitched noises like a crazy person, trying to get him to look at us and perk up his ears. As if on queue, as soon as we finished with the dog pictures the clouds went away and that wonderful golden sunlight came out. Just in time for the pictures of just me and Jeremy.

Overall, I'm sure she snapped hundreds of photos. We ended up running around to about three or four different locations. Which makes the whole 'not knowing where the appointment is going to be at' thing a little more understandable. She didn't have set locations really. When we were driving around she would slow down and check out an alley way before deciding if she wanted to stop there or not. There really was no way to pre-determine the spots we ended up using.  She let me see one or two pf the photos on her camera and they were both amazing. This was the sneak peek photo she shared on her facebook page later that evening.

LaRae Russell Photography

 

The hour and half appointment went by smoothly. It was comfortable and a lot of fun. We were talking and laughing the whole time. She was a dream to work with and I have every confidence that she captured the true spirit of our little family. I am beside myself with excitement to see the rest of our pictures.

What might have been..

This might have been the outfit I wore for our family photos that were suppose to happen this weekend. Booking a photographer is a funny thing. Now-a-days there is a photographer blog/facebook page around every virtual corner. Word of mouth plays a big part in finding someone since there aren't exactly store fronts for customers to walk into and check the place out.

I booked a photographer based on photos taken for my cousins engagement. A pretty solid endorsement, right? Not that I actually talked to my cousin about the experience, but the pictures turned out great. So, I went ahead and sent a message on this persons photography website. They responded back that same day, which I love (be prompt with me and you'll have my heart forever). This was at the end of July and they didn't have a weekend open until November. Geez!! But busy was a good sign, RIGHT?! So, I booked the appointment for November.

I dropped off our non-refundable appointment fee {which my Mom paid for, by the way} at a local lawyers office, by slipping it in the mail slot. That might sound hinky, but I understand how it can be if this is a side business or start up business. But, I did want to make sure the envelope made it into the correct hands since I wasn't able to personally deliver it into the photographers hands. I sent a few emails and a facebook message over a span of a few days, with no response. It took quite a while for the photographer to get back to me just to let me know that they did in fact get the money. This was my first red flag.

Let's fast forward to the end of October. I haven't heard anything from the photographer since July. The appointment is in two weeks. I didn't know where we would be meeting or when or if we were clear on what we wanted to do, so I sent another email to her. Four days later, I still had not heard anything back. The longer it went with no reply the angrier I got. I don't ask for much, as a customer, but I AM still a customer and I expect a bare minimum of customer service. Leaving a customer hanging for days and days just isn't acceptable in my mind..call me old fashioned or high maintenance or whatever you want. So I sent a facebook message and told them that since I was having such a hard time getting any response from them I didn't feel comfortable moving forward with our appointment and wanted to cancel.

They got back with me that same day, imagine that. So the only time I could get them to answer me back in a timely manner was when I booked the appointment and when I cancelled the appointment. Any questions in between were put on the back burner. Basically they gave me a bunch of excuses, told me that they normally email the client a week before the appointment (which I would have loved to know...but was never told that) and my email two weeks before the appointment threw them off. HHmmm..yes, I can see how a simple 'Hey, our appointment is coming up soon. Do you need any more info from me?' email might totally throw someone off their game. And then they tell me that although they think cancelling the appointment is dramatic they would respect my wishes.

Isn't that so nice of them?

I was floored. Because, as a customer, I had never been made to feel so unimportant. This person was aware that they did not reply back to me in a timely manner and didn't really care and still made a point to try and undermine how I was feeling as a customer...which was ignored...by implying that I was overreacting.

I've just never had anything like that happen to me before. And it's made me a little gun shy about attempting to seek out and/or book another photographer.

So..for all you photographer like people out there..I know your schedules can get super busy and booked. But, let this be a lesson about how important it can be to communicate with people. Your clients are important (and so is word of mouth business), don't leave them hanging. Even if they are annoying...even if they over-email you (which I don't think I was doing, by any stretch of the imagination)...even if you have to answer the same question a million times...even if you have to stay up until 1:00AM answering your emails. It's a vital part of your business and should never be ignored.

Hit Me Up

Have you heard the news? Instagram is now available for android phones. I've seen other people...Iphone people...post all their Instragram photos but didn't quite understand the appeal. Until my own husband got an Iphone after his android died. I uploaded the Instagram app on his phone and would steal his phone to use it. It's not that the photos are mind-blowing. It's just a really handy dandy little app.

So I was pretty excited to see that it is now available for android phones..because I still have one. I've uploaded the app on my phone and have used it nearly every single day since then. I just really like it..and I like that I can see other people's photos as well.

I've already started following several people..mostly from my facebook friends list. And I have a handful of people following me. If you are into that type of thing and would like to follow me on Instagram, look me up under Just Jinny.

Day Four: Bedside

March Photo-a-day

Day Three: Your Neighborhood

March Photo-a-day

I've lived in the same neighborhood for nearly my entire life. Just about every day I drive by both my elementary schools..which happen to be across the street from each other..one private, the other public. I drive by the church I grew up in. I drive by my grandparents street, which is just around the corner from the church. I drive by several of the streets I've lived on before. I drive by my Mom's house. Nearly ever day, I walk past my old junior high and the football stadium I spent many a Friday evenings at growing up. They are both right across the street from where I work. And where I work is two blocks over from my very own street.  I live right down the road from the bowling alley, also a very popular hang out when I was a teenager.

You get the picture.

I've lived my entire life in about a 20 block radius. But I don't mind it. It's comforting to me.  I've had people stop me on the street to ask for directions and I love that I can tell them, without hesitation, how to get where they want to go.

I know this neighborhood.

And it knows me, throwing old memories at me at every turn.

Day Two: Fruit

March Photo-a-Day

Day One: Up

Eh, who knows if I'll keep up with this or not (I'm pretty good at not finishing anything) but I'm throwing my hat in for Fat Mum Slim's March photo-a-day. See the March list here and play along!



Day One: Up

My Vision Board

The girls over at Tone It Up have challenged their readers to make a vision board. So, I started thinking about what I wanted more of in my life and then headed over to Pinterest to search for the perfect images to make my vision board.

Here is what I came up with. If I could have squeezed more images on there I would have, but this helped me pinpoint what I REALLY wanted to focus on.



I want to be less afraid of failure. I want more love, more passion, more kisses, more smoldering looks, more flirting. I want a LOT more laughter. I want to feel inspired. I want to spend more time with friends. I want a tighter body. I want creativity to STRIKE, I want it to flow into me and through me. I want to always feel that I can do anything, at any time..its never too late, never.

What would be on your vision board?


P.S. Don't think for a second I've forgotten about my 100 follower giveaway. It's coming, my lovelies!

Now and Then

Otto, then.

Otto, now. Squeak, then.

Squeak, now.

Jeremy, then.

Jeremy, now.

365/333 - Dinner at Casa Jinny

Vote for me!!!

I entered this photo into the Shutterfly Summer Freedom Contest...check it out and vote for me!!

MY PHOTO

365/336 - The Beginning

This picture makes me think of spending time in the parking lot after school. Flirting without even realizing that I was flirting. Ending up wearing his long sleeve flannel shirt because I was 'cold'. Wearing his ring on a necklace around my neck.

This picture makes me think of sly touches, brushing leg against leg or arm against arm, because we knew something was there..we just didn't know what. It makes me think of first dates and first kisses.

This picture makes me think of beginnings. The start of our life together, full of passion and silly arguments as we started to blend our personalities together. Makes me think how neither one of us probably fully understood what we were getting ourselves into, just that there was no other option but to be together.

365/337 - Summer Time Meal

365/339 - Cheater, Cheater, Cupcake Eater

So..you want to know how I made these Pina Colada cupcakes. Well, I like to keep my cards close to my chest bbbuuuttt I basically followed this recipe. My cupcakes turned out ok. I think I need to tweak it even more. But first, I have to make my husbands co-worker, Ernesto, a batch of damn chocolate chip cookies that I promised him before Easter. Ha!

365/340 - A flitter and a flutter