This post is Part 5: Wedding Timelines of the “What I learned in my first year” series.
Click on the links if you would like to read more parts: Part 1:”The Investments” Part 2: “Getting Published” Part 3: "Facebook Contests" Part 4: "Choosing a Second Shooter" Its great to ask the bride for her timeline 2 weeks before the wedding date. But usually you can count on some major changes to the timeline with those last two weeks and your very lucky if they update you! But realistically they are NOT! The photographer is not the first person on their mind to update. I had an experience where the bride and groom were not at the locations that they had given me so I had to send my second shooter off to look for the hotel that the groom was at. Which totally gave me a minor heart attack! You & your second shooters gotta be ready to roll with the punches because there will be plenty of blows! Vendors will be late. Timelines will be way off. Ceremonies will start later than expected. There will be car accidents blocking your only route to the area the couple chose for photographs. The sun will go down leaving you with no light (which could pose a problem for “Natural Light Photographers”). These are all real situations that I've actually been through! Sometimes you have to improvise and fill in the gaps to squeeze in some portrait shots to make sure you get everything the bride wants! Its craziness but I love it! Ive learned that timelines change and we def. have to WING IT! Open communication is everything! I'll even text my brides when I’m on my way to their house the morning of the wedding to put them at ease that I'm coming :) I remember my photographer did that to me on my wedding day and it really made me feel good! So Brides if your reading this... try to be as detailed as possible with your timelines and please keep us in the LOOP if their are any changes :) And Photographers if your reading this... The timelines are not set in stone! Dont hold it against the Brides for anything that doesn't go as planned! So just roll with it & work it out!!!! :) Prego Update: I had my 37th week doctors visit and she said that I'm as big as a house in other words of course! I've already out weighed my first pregnancy with Lil jack and I still have 3 weeks to go! Holy Moly! I hope this kid isn't a 10 pounder! It's gotten to the point that I can't even put my own socks on! Haha! Pathetic I know!
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I apologize for not being on top of my blogging A-game, things have just been so crazy over here with trying to get everything together before our world is ROCKED with another life. And even though I'm “technically” on maternity leave I've still been busy with business. Responding to wedding inquiries, for when I return in May, that can’t be left unanswered. Im soo not complaining… I’m super grateful to even be getting these inquiries -so keep em comin! Its just super hard to totally step away from business because its kinda like my baby too! I have to feed it! On top of that I'm sooo behind in my blogging, Im really trying to complete this series before the baby bean is here! If you notice that Im am M.I.A. from the blog AND facebook for awhile, then its safe to assume that I had my baby or I'm in the hospital :) You can follow me on my Facebook or Instagram @Janelle_Marina, where Ill be posting little life updates here & there, until I get back in the groove of things :)
It’s been really hard for me to sum up each topic because I really planned on elaborating more on each part. But I've been told that I tend to ramble on, so hopefully I took out all the ramblings and got straight to the point on these topics. Jack likes me to start my stories backwards starting with the end! This way he’s sure to get the point of the story because I tend to setup a story and get sidetracked with another topic and never get to the point of the first story! Pfft! Whats wrong with that!? I like to give you a visual and enough details so you can get the FULL experience! :) This post is Part 4: Choosing a second shooter of the “What I learned in my first year” series. Click on the links if you would like to read more parts: Part 1:”The Investments” Part 2: “Getting Published” Part 3: "Facebook Contests" First things first... Do your RESEARCH! Make sure that you’ve seen enough of their work to know their shooting style and then determine if their photos will flow with your photos, because it all goes into the same gallery. You also want to make sure that you get along with the second shooter, if you’ve never met then maybe arrange to meet with them before the wedding day to get on the same page. You must find someone that you’re able to Trust! You want to make sure that they are there not only to build their portfolio, but to represent YOUR business & brand! This is the reason why you have them there in the first place, to help you out. Ive had a few different second shooters and for the most part I knew everyone and their shooting styles, so I had an idea of what I was getting myself into. I also realized that I have to be more upfront with my second shooting rules because sometimes people don’t follow them probably not on purpose but that can put you in a sticky situation. Do you comfront them, do you let it go, how do you say it without sounding like a beeeyotch! Im actually currently working on creating a system/packet for my second shooters, including details of what it is that I need them to cover on the day, rules and so on. Can you say " Control Freak” ! I swear I’m not that bad, but as much fun that we have we also have to remember that this is business and we are expected of certain things by the clients so I have to make sure we are able to present them accordingly! I know that I've mentioned this before but Sometimes I just wish that my hubby could just be my full time second shooter so that I can have my trusted teammate, build a solid system, and not have to re-explain how to do it over & over again with each 2nd shooter. Its good to create a list of people who you know that are solid, just in case your main 2nd shooter isn’t available! I think its always great to have an assistant there as well… you’re not depending on their photos like you are the 2nd shooters, but your giving another person the opportunity to gain experience and whats better than helping others out! Its always a plus if they are able to give you a few awesome photos too :) When Abbey Lunt said that she would take our family/maternity photos I was so thrilled! I knew that we would have a great time with her because she has such an easy going personality! Its so easy to be yourself around her! But it had been a while since I had been in front of a camera, so I aint gonna lie I was nervous! But once Lil Jack started acting his goofy self it definitely eased my nerves! He actually doesn’t like taking pictures, but he’s so doggone photogenic! I just don’t understand it! These boys are my WORLD!!! I know that I probably shouldnt call Jack a boy, but we met when we were just teens, so to me he's always going to be that 17 year old boy with a huge backpack and crip slips! Even when we're old and wrinkly!!! I cant thank Abbey enough for capturing these real moments of our family! This kid is our form of entertainment! He’s always doing something to make us laugh! I had prepared all of these little fun props that would match our baby shower theme, because my plan was to display these photos at the shower. Abbey hustled her lil prego butt off to get a batch edited in such a short period of time! You ROOOOOCKKKKK!!! Click here to see our baby shower. Hello in there... If you dont know who this stud is... let me introduce you to Thee Love Of My Life!!! After 9 years he still gives me the butterflys or maybe thats just the baby moving around! You have no idea how hard it is for me to pretend to be serious! Have you met my little Super Hero Stud Muffin! and he's off to save the daaaaayyy!!!!
Thanks Abbs for the cute cape! It was a huge hit! One thing that really grinds my gears is when I suggest an awesome idea to Jack and he turns it down, but when someone else suggests the same thing, he actually considers it! In all fairness it doesn’t happen all of the time, but when it does I want to knock him out! Yes I admit that a good 80% of my ideas are far-fetched, but there's a solid 20% that are worth listening to lol! Choosing names for our son was no different… I would throw out the different names like Jett, but he wasn’t having it! He fought me tooth n nail on every suggestion I made... Until I randomly threw out the name Max. It's never been a name on our baby list. It's actually from a cartoon show that my son is obsessed with "Max & Ruby"! Yes from Nick jr. I didn't think for a second he would like it, nor was I sure if I even liked it! But it ended up growing on both of us! I loved the idea of having two short, classic, solid names for both of my boys. We tried suggesting the idea of adding another X to Max to make it a lil unique, but that was shot down the second it left my lips! That is Until... My 4 year old son recently drew a picture of his baby brother and wrote his name out "M-A-X-X" and Jack was all about it! He didn't even remember us suggesting it to him months prior, it was definitely one of those moments that I wanted to knock him in the head! A love tap of course! Now choosing a middle name was a whole other battle! But luckily I WON! I'm happy to announce that we have FINALLY agreed on a set spelling for his name... and its extra special because Lil man feels honored to have been the one to add the extra "X" to his baby bros name, now they both have 4 letters in their name! So here it is.... Dun Dun dun Duuuunnn..... Maxx Dean which means "The Greatest Leader” I LOVE it! We have exactly 4 weeks to go until we get to meet our new baby bambino!!! So excited, but I feel the nesting energy coming to an end! I feel more tired now a days & anxious to pop this lil guy out and meet the person who’s been playing the drums on my ribs! I think I'm imagining contractions already… I even had Jack time them yesterday and of course it was false, but still pretty exciting! I just can't wait to hold him in my arms and begin our journey of 4!!! Happy Monday Yall! Hope you have a great week! xoxo Yay #42 on my list of 100 Goals in 1000 days is done! Woop Woop! Wedding photography wouldn’t be attainable without the awesome couples who believe in you enough to invest in you on the most important day of their lives! When this year started I didnt expect to book any of my own weddings, my goal was to just second shoot as much as possible! But Thankfully these Awesome couples & I crossed paths and they actually booked ME! ME me ME me MEEEE!!! Sorry I just had to let that out :) The reason why I am able to do what I love is because of these Brides who trusted in me to document their big day! I cant thank them enough for jump starting my business and being the most awesome Clients ever! Seriously No Bridezillas Here! Thank God!!! I dont know about you but I’m always down for a nice cup of hot cocoa... Especially during this time of the year, so I wanted to share a little piece of my heart with my clients! They each got a goodie box with a hand written thank you note, hot cocoa, mini marshmallows, & a homemade branded sugar cookie to get them comfy cozy with their hunny! Thank you again MUCHO MUCHO!!!! Im so excited to see what 2013 holds for my business!
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I'M JANELLE MARINA
Wife, Mama Shark, + Photographer. Most days, you'll find me in mismatched socks and a top knot, working behind my computer with a smile on my face, listening to Zac Brown Band and R&B --or, dancing in the kitchen with my 3 littles and hunka husband, seeing who could come up with the coolest dance moves. I'm a wedding photographer, West Elm lover, aspiring advocate for our buddies with special needs, and a Certified Dreamer since 1986. We live in a cozy city in Southern California and are always up for a good adventure. I enjoy telling stories with my camera, grubbing on spicy food, and solving the latest Dateline case.
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December 2019
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