Yay! Ramiro posted some of the photos from Jack & my “Trash the Dress” photoshoot on facebook! They came out soo cool! He’s also the owner of San Dimas Photography, so check him out! (Special thanks to Larry & Joyce & the video Guys for being so helpful during the shoot! Ya’ll are a great Team!)

Here are a few of the images… (I'm usually not this Serious lol, this is just how he wanted me to pose!)

You cant get these kind of photos without going in the middle of some picky weeds! Wish i had some tennis shoes on for this shot!

This was on a horse trail! Crazy Huh!

I had to go in the water to get this photo! Ramiro's assistant Larry let me step on his back to climb up to sit on the edge! Craziness!  

This just goes to show that you dont have to be a model to get some cool photos!

Heater -Check!
White Noise -Check!
Backdrops -Check!
Cute Beanies -Check!
Great Window Light -Check!
Props -Check!
Newborn -Check!
Or I should say Super Baby!!! 

    I was as prepared as I could get! This was my first Newborn Shoot with a Brand NEW Baby -18 days old to be exact! I was totally stoked to try out all these cute little poses! All I needed was for the baby to stay in a Deep Sleep! –Easier said than done!
 
     When Baby Nathan arrived he was sound asleep in his car seat! He was so doggone small & cute!! I swaddled him and got some shots while he was sleeping, then when we took off his clothes to do some “Sleepy Buns” shots, he was not a happy camper! He didn’t like to be on his belly (which threw me off because all of my cute pose ideas was him on his belly) and he was already trying to push himself up and move his legs, in the crawling position! This boy was Strong!! He finally relaxed when his mama would get close & talk to him.  I was able to get some shots of him looking into my camera with his big beautiful brown eyes! It was nice to switch it up for the day and have a newborn in my arms!  Thanks Ashley for allowing me to photograph your pride & joy! 
    I learned a very important lesson… don’t underestimate the strength of a newborn!

 * Being new photographer I have so many questions! I admire those seasoned
photographers that reach out to help other people to gain success! Some are
willing to share more than others and I have found so much helpful information
from Jasmine Stars FAQ Blog Posts! She has been so open with answering questions and that inspires me to help other people along the way. To all my photography peeps out there, I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the famous wedding photographer Jasmine Star, but she’s having a business conference in Los Angeles March 20th! Check it out http://jasminestarfix.com/ I’d love to see some familiar faces!

* I’ve also been wanting to clear something up... I know that in one of my past posts I stated that one day I’d like to get good enough to charge $10,000 for a wedding session (like the big dogs) –but I’d also like to win the LOTTO! I’m not holding my breath for either one!  Of course I’d like to become as good as the big dogs in the industry, but I’d like to create packages that reach out to the people who cannot afford the Top Dogs in the industry! 

* Last thing I want to talk about is the photo session with Ramiro, it was awesome! If I could sum up his brand in 3 words I would definitely say ADVENTEROUS! FUN! & FIERCE! He has such a creative eye, he makes dirty alleys and old buildings look amazing! He loves to get edgy photos like stand us in the middle of the street while watching for passing cars. I say Fierce because he likes to get photos that look straight out of a high fashion magazine. He had us posed very stylish and muy suave! I literally climbed hills in heels! Trotted through weeds –that had pickas and hurt my poor feet! At the end we had a lil trash the dress session! He even had me go into the lake (yes dress and all!) Are you sure I'm allowed to swim in these waters, it looks pretty dirty!? "Yes! Of course!" So there I go waste deep in the freezing water, swimming with the ducks! The bottom half of my body went numb, but I was having fun!  As I’m walking out of the Lake I look to my right and see a big sign that says NO SWIMMING!!! Great! I hope I don’t grow a third arm! Ramiro is such a cool guy that makes you feel so comfy! I can’t wait to get the photos to show you all!

Don’t forget to enter to win a FREE “Love Story” Couples Photoshoot! See Information in the post Below! It helps me out a lot to build my portfolio and you get free photos out of it!! Its a Win Win!

    So the time has come to announce The “Love Story Contest” details!
My Love Story category includes couples and engagement sessions. There are many people in this world that are in relationships and would love to get some fancy photos! Many photographers offer only engagement sessions, but why do ya gotta be engaged to get some nice photos?
     Jack and I were together 7 years before we got married and I would have loved to have taken some cool photos that showed our personalities & our story, rather than having to go to JcPenny or Dream Shots!So I welcome all couples even married ones!  –preferably 18 and over (don’t want any parents getting mad at me because they’re minor is holding hands with their boyfriend in my photos!)
So getting back to my contest…

Winner receives an hour photo session and a digital disc of your images! 

How to enter:
 - Join my Facebook Page
 - Email a photo of you and your mate to info@janellemarina.com, along with a short blurp of your “Love Story”! (How you two met or how he purposed!) 
- I will post your submissions in a Contest folder, then you Tell all your friends to JOIN Janelle Marina’s Page & also LIKE your Post! 

**You need to do ALL of these steps and then you’re automatically entered to win!

The winners will be announced Feb 1st!! 

Here is an example of how your post look…

“Can you stay a few minutes after class, I want to talk to you about something?”
Oh no… my instructor looked pretty serious, did I do something wrong?  Right away I start thinking of anything that I might have messed up on. I'm too doggone old to be getting in trouble!

“I wanted to ask if you and your husband want to be my models for a wedding video that I have to create for WPPI Conference?” (Side note: WPPI is a world known Wedding & Portrait Photographers International Conference in Las Vegas. Its kinda a BIG DEAL! The crème of the crop in the industry attend along with the lucky newbies that can afford it.)

I smiled very stiffly from ear to ear and got super nervous. Like sweaty palms, face twitching, almost pee your pants kinda nervous! (But -"You ain't cool unless you pee yo pants!" -totally luv anyone who knows what movie that's from! Yes, I am a movie junkie!)
Anyway gettin back to my story...

"Of course we will!"
# 1- This was the closest I was gettin to WPPI -even if it was just in a video! # 2- this is an awesome opportunity to get to see how he actually works with people and what he does to make us feel comfy. # 3- maybe I can get cool with him, then he’ll let me assist him with his weddings! I am also totally flattered that he wanted us to be in his video! Even if it is only because he knew that we just got married and had our wedding attire… Then my husband popped in my head. I told my instructor that I'd ask my husband if he was down. Keep in mind Jack hates taking photos... emphasize on the HATE!

Luckily I didn't have to beg him as much as I thought I was going to have to... I was ready to promise washing dishes for a week! (I'm really lucky that Jack came up with the Rule that the cook doesn’t wash dishes! So we always switch it up! –Yup, I know what you’re thinking… He’s pretty awesome! I must’ve done something right in my past life to have him in my world! )
He could hear in my voice how excited I was about the whole Shindig, so he agreed to participate! Woo hoo!

I'm thrilled to have the creative Ramiro Gaytan taking our wedding photos... not only is he an awesome photographer, but he's an extraordinary person! Wow big word! I don't throw that word around very often but he truly is! I'm also super excited to wear my wedding dress again, I wasn’t ready to say goodbye just yet!  Ramiro said he might want to try some adventurous stuff with us... like underwater photos. oooooo! We’re gonna bust some Fear Factor stuff up in this biz!!! I'll let you know how it all goes down. Have a great night & sleep tight!
♥jm