Updates

Website

So my new website is up and running :) FINALLY! Please go check it out. This is the link http://www.shawnamariesphotos.com/

You can see my work, look at rates, send an inquiry. . . and I am now making gift certificates available so if anyone has questions about that just let me know. Here is an example of what one may look like:

Studio

Also my studio is finished! For the time being anyways. . . I may decide to change or add something later :) But I have the wall painted green for my green screen now I will have no problem making extractions for my digital backgrounds.

Next I got my wall mount for my backdrops. It holds three paper rolls so they are out of the way. No stands, no changing, just easy easy easy! And both of my muslins are hanging up as well.

All my props are cleaned up around the sides and put away on shelves so now I dont feel so crowded! :)

Meet and Greet

And last, photographers, models, hair stylists, makeup artists, wardrobe stylists, look out for a networking party in february. Details are still being taken care of but i will let you all know once we have everything set. Just some things to look foward to though is there will be two models, so twelve photographers will get to take pictures for their portfolios. It will be in my studio with 2 shooting stations and food and drinks. Bring your ports and business cards! There will be a small fee for everyone attending.

Ok so I think thats it for now, if I forgot anything i will just post another blog, but I think I got everything. So go check out my webpage! Give a photoshoot as a christmas gift, birthday, baby shower, etc.

My first spread in a magazine!

Hey everyone! So I just wanted to let you all know that I have a spread in fierce magazine :) I will give you the link in a sec.

So this is a new online magazine that is dedicated to fashion and the people that are apart of it such as, photographers, models, hairstylists, etc. It's great to show the talents of these people in the industry. I have a spread as well as an interview so CHECK IT OUT! And tell all your friends too! haha.

Well anyways here is the link and I hope you guys enjoy it :)



http://issuu.com/fiercepublications/docs/sept10

Angel My Darling

Hey everyone, so this chick is a really cool and sweet person. She came up with this great concept to have a fruit necklace made out of oranges, lemons, and limes and to do her makeup to match with yellow, orange, and green. So as soon as she told me, I totally fell in love with it!

Claudia, the MUA I had worked with her once before but we never actually met. The model had her makeup done before the shoot, but this time we actually got to work together. She is SO amazing and VERY creative. She did an amazing job on the makeup and made the fruit necklace.

The second concept that we did was a very natural beauty shot. This was something Angel really wanted to have in her book, because all her other pictures have heavy makeup, but she was scared to do. After taking the pictures she was still a little self concious because she's not used to seeing herself that way. I think they turned out great and she look beautiful! She really has natural beauty.

I AM AGENCY APPROVED WOOHOOO!

Hey guys,

So one of my goals for 2010 was to get agency approved. My opportunity came up when I shot Samantha (She is in one of my blogs below). Anyways like I said before, Samantha is signed with Peak Models and when I got the chance to shoot her I got the chance to submit the photos of her.
The first time I submitted I didn't hear anything back for like a week and then I got an email saying to send the photos. So I sent them again and a couple more weeks went by and I got another email saying to send the photos over again. So once more I did and I got a fast reply back saying "These are good! What are your rates?" So I sent my rates and contact info and she said she will let the models know that need shots! Once it actually got going it wasn't too hard.
I am going to continue to submit to agency's so that I have a better chance at getting booked, I mean the more agency's that represent you the more work you'll get. You know? But it is a start and I know Peak Models is a great agency and I am so happy that I met one of my goals for this year already!
So if you are trying to make it in this business stay strong and work hard! It will all pay off I promise. Shoot as much as you can because the more you shoot the better you will get.

Elise

Elise and I used to live down the street from each other when we were younger and have been going to the same church forever! I moved away and she went to college and I haven't seen her in years. It was so nice to catch up with her because she is a great person and really fun to be around. Anyways these are the shots we got :)

Yesenia

Yesenia is not agency represented yet but she has done many modeling gigs and shows. She would be a great commercial model, she just has that look.

Yesenia was a blast to work with, she is very sweet and has a great smile! Hair and makeup was done by me and wardrobe was done by Rana X, a person I work with on alot of my shoots :) she's wonderful as well!

Samantha

Samantha is a wonderful model I met through MM and she is signed with PEAK MODELS. She has such a great look and I think we got some great shots. It was a LONG, but successful day :)

Once we finally found a great location everything went smoothly. I hope I get the chance to work with Samantha again!

Beauty

Considering how much time I had to shoot these girls, this shoot turned out great! I think we had about a half and hour and we got to do both looks. Models were Joanka and Veronica and hair and makeup was done by Valerie.

I really love doing beauty shoots that focus on the face, hair, and

makeup. I think these shots capture the girls true beauty and it was a joy to work with them both. Although Veronica was a new model she did a great job once she was over her nerves. Joanka was amazing! The way she moved and posed herself was so graceful and lovely. Every shot I got of her looked amazing and it was hard to just choose a couple.

Dana

So this young lady and I actually went to elementry school together! Small world. I had been looking on Model Mayhem at another photographers page and came across her picture. I was like 'this girl looks so familiar I think I have seen her before.' Then when I finally found her name I was like 'OMG I have to see if she remembers me and we can shoot.' So I sent her a message and it was totally awesome :) haha. Anyways she is just as sweet as I remember her to be and we got to catch up on life and had a really fun day!

Tamara

So I am really not good at keeping up with this whole blogging thing. I have already skipped a week and I am a day late on this one. Good thing I don't have many followers yet :) haha.


So magazines and publishers like a photoshoot to become a huge production with many people involved including the photographer, the model, makeup artist, hairstylist, and wardrobe stylist. AT LEAST. There could be more people. Anyways I have done shoots with a team like this and I have done shoots with just myself and a model, where either I did the hair and makeup or the model did the hair and makeup. And you know what?Most of the time the shoots where we don't have a team of professionals come out better!


Take this shoot for example:

This was a last minute shoot that I had set up with a model from Model Mayhem that I have worked with once before. But I mean, we had like one day to prepare if that. She called me the night before and said 'I need some new shots and I have an outfit that I want to wear.' Then she came the next morning already dressed and made up and we shot for not even 30 minuets! It was awesome :). I am a very fast shooter and I like to just get it done. I don't mess around.

So what I am trying to say is that having a team of professionals isn't always the "right" answer. I don't think anyone would be able to tell that this photoshoot was thrown together in less than a second. If you have the right model and the right photographer then the photos will show that, reguardless.

So my model was Tamara Hope Cox and she is just starting out in this business. Like I said her and I have worked together once before and she's a great girl. The first time we shot she was a little shy as far as posing goes, but this time she was fearless! She just gave it all she got and she did amazing. I think we ended up with some really great shots.

To view more pictures from this shoot click this link
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=25014120&albumId=2903653




Talk to you guys soon!

Shawna Marie

Flakyness

Hey guys! So I am just going to get right into this. One of my pet peeves is LIARS! Yup! I can't stand when people say they are going to do something and then they don't!
Yesterday I was supposed to have a photoshoot with a girl from Menifee and she didn't show up. no phone call or anything. I had a feeling that was going to happen, but that's not the point. Like sometime last week I had sent her a message telling her I hadn't found any stylists yet, but it would be ok because we still had time. Well I didn't get anything back. Then the night before, I sent her another message asking if we were still on and to please let me know either way. Well still nothing. I mean if she was going to cancel, then whatever! I can deal with that but at least have the decency to call!! And what really gets me mad about it, is that a day or two before we were supposed to shoot I had found this really cool and funky crocheted neck thingy, so I decided to make it for the shoot. And I worked really hard on that thing! And then I couldn't even use it. Ugh! Maybe for the next shoot.

So anyways, now that that's over. . . haha. I was extremely busy in January, but this month has slowed down because people keep canceling on me. But I am anxious to start up again and start getting some AMAZING shots. I am really hoping that my portfolio will be done in June. Obviously not done-done, I mean my book will never be completely done, as you grow your port. changes, but it will be a start to try to send in to some agencies and hopefully get signed. But we'll see... I will definately keep you posted. So until next time..... Which will probably be Saturday. I am going to try to write in here once a week and I chose Saturday. I know today is Sunday, but I was busy this weekend :)

Be safe everyone,
Shawna Marie

Introduction

Hey everyone! So if you don't know who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Shawna Marie Jensen and I am a 22 year old little girl with a BIG dream. I grew up in, what used to be a small town but it's grown quite a bit since I was young. A little town called Victorville. It's in the middle of the desert and, I guess you could say, "in the boondocks" haha. If you live in California and you've ever driven to Las Vegas then you drive right through it. Anyways, this is where I was born and raised!

When I was very young, I guess about five or so, I discovered a talent of mine. . . Painting. Yup! My mom bought me a watercolor set and I painted picture after picture of everything around me including all my stuffed animals, toys, and furniture! I was pretty good at painting what I saw and it was such a blast for me. As time went on I explored other mediums such as grafite, acrylic paints, and even colored pencils. By the time I was in my freshman year in high school I was sure I wanted to go to school for art and learn all there was to know about it.

By my Sophmore year I wanted to venture out and try photography as an art medium, but for some reason I was terrified to try. I guess I just felt like I wouldn't be good enough at it or I would get in the class and know nothing about it (Which I didn't know ANYTHING about photography). But somehow I got the guts to do it and I took my first photography class that year. Photography, just like painting, ignited something in me and I fell head-over-heals for it. Just like when I was young, painting everything in sight, I was snapping photos of everyone and everything around me.

Then came college and I decided to go to the Community College here in my hometown Victorville. At this point I was focusing on my AA degree and decided to get it in Fine Arts. So I started out taking all my general ed classes and then came all the fun stuff! I took all kinds of art classes like sculpting, life drawing, art history, and a painting class. But no photo classes. I was STILL scared! I don't know why but I had the same feelings like I had in high school. I wanted to take a photography class so badly, but something was holding me back. I didn't feel like I would be good enough. So I finished my AA without taking any photography courses.

I think it was almost a year that had passed since I had graduated and I had been practicing photography on my own. I had been through my first digital camera and had just bought a semi-professional model. Now that I had more experience on my own I decided to go back to school and take a photography class. So I enrolled for a portraiture class. I remember going on my first day bringing all my equipment with me because I didn't know what to expect. Haha. I laugh now because why would we take pictures on the first day?! But I got through it and ended up LOVING my class. I also remember the first assignment, we had to bring a model in and take pictures of him/her in the studio. Well he gave me an A and I was not happy about that. I went home and told my mom he had given me an A. An A! She was like 'well isn't that a good thing?' I said "NO! I want him to be honest, real, and brutal!" So the next class I went up to him with my pictures in my hand and said "So what do you REALLY think of these?" And he sat down and critiqued them for me. It was a pretty good first critique and I was much more satified. So I did pretty well in that class and I learned a lot!

After that one course in photography my dreams had changed and I knew I wanted to become and portrait photographer. So I decided to start my own business called Shawna Marie Photography. I didn't choose to use my last name because I knew that one day I would be marrying my boyfriend at the time (he's my husband now :)) so I used my middle name instead. But since then I have built my business in portraits such as newborn, maternity, familes, pets, graduations, model portfolios, headshots, etc. And then came a photographer from Los Angeles. . .

Chanel found me on Model Mayhem and asked me if I knew of any photographers in the high desert that would be willing to let her and her team use there studio to get the models ready before a shoot. So right away I said "um, yeah! ME!! I have a studio you can use" And next thing I know I have 20 people at my house getting ready for a magazine shoot. I was fortunate enough to be able to shoot along side Chanel that day and get some really great images for my book. And then just when I thought I knew "EXACTLY" what I wanted to do in life, I changed my mind once more. Fashion Photography. That was my calling. I was like "this is it. This is what I am going to strive to become."

So now that I gave you a little bit of my history I will now explain why I decided to start a blog. Well for a couple reasons actually. First and foremost to document my journey to becoming a fashion photographer and to maybe share with others that have the same interests as I. As well as helping people who want to do this too by giving insight, tips, and personal experiences. So please come with me on my journey and see what fun and exciting things will occur. Like I said earlier I have some big dreams and I hope to accomplish some this year! Come along for the ride, you just might find YOURSELF!