http://www.jessicaclaire.net/ Jessica Claire Photography Blog en-us http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=391 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=391 Tue, 18 Nov 2008 12:07:00 GMT Crystal Goss drove all the way down from Arkansas on back to back weekends to shoot first Fiona & Ian's wedding with me, and then Anna and Chris. Not to mention that she has a baby at home, and another one on the way! Crystal seriously has the best attitude of pretty much anyone I know--I don't know a single person who doesn't love her. I'm so lucky that she was willing to shoot these weddings with me--she's so incredibly talented, and such a kindhearted person. Crystal, THANK YOU!!

If you are in the Arkansas/Tennessee/Louisiana area and getting married late next year (late spring, summer, or fall), you should check out Crystal's work, she's incredible! Watch the beautiful promo she had done below--it gives a very good sense of her demeanor and personality!






]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=390 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=390 Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:21:00 GMT Mammoth Men are, get ready for some awesome overload over the next week! The whole "Mammoth Men" phenomenon came about a year or two ago when a group of friends went up to Mammoth to go snowboarding together. They just so happened to be all unbelievably amazing photographers and rad people in general, so when you get that many cool brains in one place, great ideas are bound to be born.

Earlier this year, they took an RV up to San Francisco, getting into all kinds of shenanigans and trouble along the way. They're like James Bond--women want them, and men want to BE them!

Well, as of RIGHT THIS VERY SECOND,they are at it again, taking the RV,a couple of new friends, and their crazy personalities and attitudes on a route from the OC all around Route 66 and back, stopping in places like Vegas, Roswell, and Phoenix to cause trouble and take names. The coolest part about their adventure--there is TONS of audience participation, and we even get to vote to choose what they do each day!

SHOOTSAC is one of the big sponsors of the trip this year, and we've got a crazy cool promotion going on with them. I asked each of the 12 men to fill a shootsac with their favorite things, ranging all the way from bourbon, to books, to mix CD's to surf wax, depending on the guy. Each sac's items are individually selected by they guys themselves,and we're GIVING AWAY each Mammoth Man's Sac over the next week.

Here's the catch--you must **FOLLOW THEM ON TWITTER** and check **THEIR BLOG** (and this blog) every day for the next week. Or else, these things will go so fast you'll miss out! You'll also have to participate--there's no telling what you might have to do for your chance to win the shootsacs! There are 12 to give away, one for each guy, so there's lots of chances to win,but lots of people competing!

Let's leave them lots of comments to wish them well (because you all know you wish you were there with them--I do, big time!!!) These guys are seriously some of my favorite people, and by the end of this trip, you're going to love them as much as I do!

Oh, and watch this video:

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Mammoth Men 3 Trailer from FRED EGAN on Vimeo.


]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=389 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=389 Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:58:00 GMT
Julie Hill and I made the 4.5 hour drive from New Orleans to Monroe Louisiana with a half excited, half fascinated attitude, marveling at the different sights we saw, from this little restaurant shaped like a dress to the ancient officer who pulled Julie over and threatened to lock her up next time she "came through them parts". We arrived and changed, and decided to head over right away to the pre-wedding party that some friends of Anna's family were throwing.

No sooner than we had walked up the driveway were we hugged tightly by at least two of Anna's sisters, Anna, some neighbors, and both of Anna's parents. It was seriously the most welcoming moment of my life--I felt enclosed by the Rockett family immediately and knew that it was going to be an amazing weekend! That night, I got a chance to speak fairly in-depth to quite a few members of the family, and absolutely could not wait to shoot the wedding the next day!

I've gotten quite a few emails and speculation about WHY I choose to do a free wedding each year, and the general consensus seems to be that it is a business maneuver. This isn't the case--I've never once booked any kind of paying job for shooting one of these weddings. It just seems like there are some genuinely nice people out there in the world who deserve to have something nice done for them. Wedding photography isn't a "need" by any standards--it's just something I happen to do as my career that once in awhile I choose to do solely for fun for a nice person, and Anna & Chris certainly qualify!

Anyway, the next morning, I walked over to the restaurant next to our hotel to grab a bite to eat before heading out to shoot, where I ran into Chris and 6 or 7 of his friends, brothers, and brothers-in-law and was immediately invited to join them! Never one to turn down hanging out with a big group of gentlemen, I accepted and was introduced to some Monroe cuisine (I didn't order this floating cheeseburger but I did taste it). It maybe wasn't the best idea for me as a pre-wedding meal, though!

I spent the rest of the day joining Anna and Chris as they did what any couple does--get ready, pledge their lives to one another, and enjoy their friends and family! The overwhelming feeling of love that I saw and experienced that day, I will never forget. I would have been more than happy to stay in Monroe for another couple of weeks, living at a more relaxed pace, becoming a local at the restaurant, and having my official adoption ceremony with the Rockett family--they already have 8 kids, they wouldn't mind one more, right?!

Rockett and Pryor families--thank you for a weekend I will never forget. I appreciate all the thought you put in to every single thing you did, and will never forget any of you!

Now, on to the rest of the photos:

Anna's family church:

These little girls were so cute:

Daddy and Anna walking down the aisle:

I love how the sun filtered in through the windows:

Anna's mom actually made her netted veil!

I love this one:

And this one:

Woo hoo, Mr. & Mrs.!

We headed back to the lake house for a few more photos:

My favorite shot of the day:

Through my blog, I was contacted by Wendee Robbins, who offered to drive in from Texas to coordinate the wedding! She did such a beautiful job pulling in the details!

First dance:

Just the girls:

This might be my favorite moment of the day:

Outta here!

You have to watch this video that Julie did that day--it's so beautiful:

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Anna & Chris--it is my honor to know you! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your day, and including me in your lives!!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=388 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=388 Tue, 11 Nov 2008 05:11:00 GMT
From The Rockett Sisters, Lisa, Jennifer, and Lacey:

January 12, 2008

Dear Jessica Claire,

We hope this letter finds you well and not too over-whelmed with letters. We are sorry that this is coming in at the last possible moment, and hope that it is not causing you additional stress. That being said, we hope that you will enjoy getting to know our little sister through this brief and inept description. We found out about your amazingly generous offer through your blog and felt that we just had to write.

So, without further ado, we would like to introduce you to our little sister, Anna. She is the fifth child in a family of eight; five girls and three boys. She is an amazingly beautiful young woman â€" outside and in. She goes to school full-time, teaches piano to 17 students who adore her, and also serves at a local restaurant on the weekends. Chris is a guy we’ve known his entire life. We even used to babysit him! He was born just three months before Anna in a small town in Mississippi. He is one of those guys that everyone asks to be a groomsman in their wedding. He won us all over (including our dad) from the beginning of their relationship, with his sweet charm, goofy personality, and plain-simple-love for Anna. In 92’ our family had to relocate to Louisiana and just seven years later Chris’s family moved to the same small town! It was if they were meant to be together all along. They have literally grown up together, and are like two peas in a pod. When they were fifteen, they were deemed by anyone who was “in the know” â€" an item. Amazingly enough, through their high-school years, they didn’t fall into the typical teen-age drama of insecurities, constant break-ups, and co-dependency. So secure were they in their relationship, they felt it important to give each other plenty of room to breath and grow. Despite the fact that they made a difficult, yet mature decision to spend two summers apart, their relationship did not falter, but grew deeper and deeper. They, quite literally, fell into love.

Anna has always been a very motivated and determined young woman. She worked through high school as a babysitter, and bought her first, beat-up car at only 16 years old. She paid for her own insurance, cell phone, clothes, etc. Though our parents had no money to help, she decided she wanted to go to college after graduating from high school. So, she saved and used all of her money that she received as graduation gifts, to pay for college. When her car broke down and was not repairable, we were all very concerned about how she would pay for a new one. We knew Anna was very careful with her money, but what we didn’t know was that she planned ahead and had saved more than enough for a new car. She has done the same in preparation for her wedding. She knew that there would not be much money available for her wedding, so she started saving years ago. When their other college friends are out on weekends, she and Chris work or stay in, and deny themselves little treats and special things they truly deserve, because they want their wedding to special for their friends and family. However, finding ways to make this event special and unique comes with its own set of challenges. She is the fifth child in our family to get married in a six year time period. We have all gotten married in Monroe, Louisiana â€" at the same church, with the same decorations, the same disc jockey, cake maker, and photographer; the last wedding was less than a year ago. Though she has been very willing to take our suggestions to heart and “make things easy”, she has very sweetly struggled to make her own wedding unique.

Our parents both work full-time jobs, and still have three children living at home; there is no room in the budget for anything other than the ordinary. Not only has Anna so selflessly asked for no monetary help, it has been of the utt-most importance to her to keep cost to a minimum for her attendants.

We would love to show you Louisiana in the fall, with all its beautiful bayous and cypress trees.
We would love to share our huge family with you and our unique Cajun-spin on Southern hospitality.
We would love for you to be the photographer at our little sister’s wedding.

We love our sister more than anything and feel that she and Chris have worked so hard to live quiet, peaceful, and responsible lives. They have been an amazing example of sweetness and humility to all who know them. They are the first to volunteer for any project that needs to be done, and the first to be invited to a party - because they are just so wonderful to be around. I’ve never heard them complain about hard work, or expect special treatment for anything.
Though not earth-shattering, they do have an amazing story. It is a story is of something beautiful, rare and true. It’s of first love, first kisses, and falling in love with your best friend.

She and Chris would be greatly honored by your gift.

So with that, I leave you these photos!



Anna with some help from her sister Lisa getting ready:

Finishing touches:

Wonder what boys do the morning of their weddings?

This is the house where Anna got ready--it's owned by her church and sits on the church property. All the church members use it for functions, to put up out of town guests, and to get ready for weddings! Not bad, huh? :)

Anna's simple, vintage inspired dress:

A bright splash of color for the shoes:

One of my favorite bridal photos ever:

I LOVED these flowers!

First look:

This setting could not have been more perfect:

Nor could Anna have been:

Love...

Chris is no slouch himself!

The girls are always laughing and having a good time:

This one just makes me happy:

Love those shoes!

Chris makes Anna happy:

Seriously, can I shoot here every day??

Stay tuned for part 2, tomorrow!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=387 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=387 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:46:00 GMT
I feel bad for John McCain--I generally feel bad for anyone who loses! I don't feel like he lost so much as it was the Bush administration who lost--not electing McCain was more in response to that, I think. His concession speech was very good, and losing sucks no matter how you slice it.

Obama has a tough road ahead of him--he's not entering into office at an easy time. I hope that he is all the things he says he is, and that this is a positive change in the attitude of America. I do think that it will energize people to have someone so ambitious and dynamic and full of hope as the focal point of the country.

I am very optimistic about the future of the country right now because it's time for things to be shaken up a little bit! I'm also personally thrilled that the picketers that have been lining the streets around here with signs will no longer be out causing traffic.

If you are over hearing about the election and want a little dose of humor, I did a new Shoot the Sh*t episode while I was in NYC a week or two ago for Photoplus Expo. It's posted up over at The Bschool Blog, so go check it out! I paid a friend of mine some money to try to eat a whole Crepe in one bite. Good times!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=386 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=386 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:56:00 GMT
Here's the deal, and this is a November promotion ONLY:

Sessions are about 30-45 minutes in Orange County (LA and San Diego are available on request for an additional fee)
We will capture your family doing something fun together or being cute together, in a pretty/cool/cute area, and get some great images
All images will be posted online
You maybe choose one full resolution, retouched file for your holiday card which will be emailed to you (additional files are $150 each)
You can order additional loose prints for gifts or framing off of your online cart
Bonus: You'll get to show off your adorable family/children/dogs/exotic pets to your loved ones this year!

Cost: $650

SESSIONS MUST TAKE PLACE NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 1ST! There is LIMITED availability, so shoot an email over to clients@jessicaclaire.net to set up your session now!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=385 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=385 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:55:00 GMT
This is how I knew that I liked Ian before I ever met him.

The night before the wedding, I stopped by the church in Memphis where the wedding would take place the next day. With all the hustle and bustle that was going on, Ian took the time to introduce me to himself, his family, and his groomsmen, who are as awesome and diverse as he is. They flew from literally, all over the world to stand up for him in his wedding.

I am so honored to have been chosen to photograph this wedding. I feel that after spending time with this couple, I know more about what love should look like, and I hope that I was able to capture that for them.

Onto the photos!

It's always good to kick things off (pun intended) with a blingy pair of shoes:

Fiona's other bling:

This whole look was so gorgeous. The gown was by Reem Acra and fit her absolutely perfectly:

Mom's first proud look at her only daughter:

This is what she saw--she certainly is gorgeous, isn't she??

Ian and his hunka hunka burnin' groomsmen (hey, it was a memphis wedding, and with these glasses, I couldn't resist)

Fiona helping dad out before he walks her down the aisle:

Fiona fought me tooth and nail before the wedding. Although it was going to be dark after the ceremony, she was firm that she wanted Ian's expression as she first appeared to walk down the aisle. Turned out she was right--he was excited!

This church was so beautiful and I loved the traditional but beautiful feel of this photo:

Right after the ceremony. Tech info--no flash, 3200 ISO, 1/60th of a second, shot BW in camera:

Of course we had to stop off at Beale Street on the way to the reception!

The party was held at the famous Peabody Hotel. Gorgeous, isn't it?

I was impressed with these moves!

One really cool thing about this couple is how into each other and aware of one another they were. It was never hard to find them together to capture private moments like these:

They had a killer bluesy band play:

One the way to cut the cake--I love their excitement!

Right after cutting--an impromptu kiss.

Fiona and Ian, thank you for sharing your day with me. You are wonderful!!! Also, a VERY VERY BIG thank you to my good friend Crystal Goss of Arkansas for driving all the way down to shoot this with me. Love ya girl!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=384 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=384 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:13:00 GMT
A few weeks ago, I made my way to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for Thea and Nilsson's wedding extravaganza! I've actually been looking forward to this wedding all year, because I knew that it would be an absolutely beautiful event and I could not wait to work with this couple. I was certainly not disappointed.

The morning of the wedding, Thea kicked it off early with her hair and makeup, but she was in amazing spirits all day. There's nothing better than a bride that is genuinely happy and excited to be getting married!

We headed back to Thea's parents' beautiful home so she could put on her gown. Fun fact about the gown--it was designed by Austin Scarlet from Project Runway for Kenneth Pool

Getting a little help from Mom, Gail and Sis, Isabel:

Is she stunning or what? Seriously, she belongs on the cover of a bridal magazine:

I LOVED this bouquet! The sparkle, the purple...yum!

The contrast of the girls dresses and those flowers made the colors POP:

After spending all morning with the girls, I headed over to the guys. Let's face it, they're really, really, ridiculously good looking:

And funny!

One cool thing about the ceremony was the choir that came down the aisle singing. It added a touch of drama!

The light as the girls were about to walk down was so beautiful:

I love this moment between Thea and her dad:

First kiss!

Again, that beautiful light...

Woo hoo!

Thea & Nilsson have a classic look. I loved this shot in BW:

Talk about location! The museum where the reception was held was absolutely killer. How many people can say a giant plane hung above their dance floor? Plus, check out the capitol building lit up outside:

The coolest element of the wedding--not one but TWO Sylvia Weinstock cakes. Every element of both of these cakes is edible. Those flowers are made of sugar and are so incredibly detailed:

Everything from the flags to the rocks and shells on this grooms cake was made of sugar also:

It was a shame to cut it but it was GOOD!

The first dance was fabulous. Thea is a star dancer, dancing her way on the dance team all through college. I was very impressed with Nilsson's skills too!

That dress just floated:

This couple is just so in love and happy to be together. Getting to spend the whole weekend with them, their friends, and family was an experience I will never forget. One of my favorite moments was listening to the toasts at the rehearsal dinner and getting to know this couple through the eyes of their closest relatives and friends.

Thea & Nilsson, thank you SO much for allowing me to be a part of your day!

I have to give a special thanks to my friend Kyle Barnes for coming to shoot this wedding with me. I love this shot he got of me--thanks Kyle!!

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=383 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=383 Thu, 16 Oct 2008 15:43:00 GMT

There's not much he loves more than birthday wishes and Amazon Gift Certificates so swing by his blog *RIGHT HERE* and leave him some love today!!

**it's always fun to get gifts from The Something Store or of course, QVC if you have a hankerin' :)

]]> http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=382 http://www.jessicaclaire.net/index.cfm?postID=382 Tue, 14 Oct 2008 13:00:00 GMT
In New Orleans, I did manage to do a couple of non workshop related shoots. I did a shoot for an amazing couple, Kortnee and Ted who were in my Image X class. They were looking for some fun shots of the two of them, as well as some website-worthy ones. We got to talking about the big rebrand that they're doing, and I absolutely can't wait to see what they do. Check it out--they do a lot of tricks also, but you'll have to wait for the full post for those :)

Two cabs is better than one:

I also photographed Rachael Sizemore, Victor's wife. Rachael has some modeling experience and she sure can work it! Tons of these are fun also:

At Image X, we had really amazing models, this is Allison and Ricky:

Jamie and Rick:

Did I mention that a month or two ago, I shot a session for my friend Chenin? It was so cute and fun, and if you haven't seen her killer new blog, you should check it out RIGHT HERE

Photographers make great models, don't they?

Last but certainly not least, I shot a very special wedding for Anna and Chris in Monroe, Louisiana this past weekend. I can't wait to share this one with you, because it was really an incredible experience:

Whew! One more shoot today, a wedding in Hawaii this weekend, a trip to NYC next week, a wedding in Arizona the following week, and then a whole slew of Christmas/Holiday sessions, a likely trip to the Dominican Republic, a visit home to North Carolina, a cruise, and finally a New Years' Eve wedding in Atlanta, then I can call it a year and spend a few weeks sleeping!

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