A week or so ago, I went back home for a photoshoot with 3 of the cutest kids I know – my nephews and niece. It was my first time shooting children, which made for an exciting day. The wind was incredible that day, but we luckily had the sun to keep us warm! I have tons of amazing pictures, but here’s a look at the day!
As some of my followers know, I just bought a new amazing dSLR a few weeks back but haven’t really had the chance to use it how I want. This past weekend, my hubby was kind enough to be my model so I could practice a bit with my new camera :) We wondered across the street to Ohio Street Beach, then to the park nearby, then to Navy Pier. Here’s some of the work that came out of that session. Let me know what you think!
Until next time
<3 jenna
In record timing, my camera arrived at my doorstep (well at my building step). I ordered it Sunday night and it was at my place mid-day Wednesday. I knew when it was arriving, so I came into work at 7:30am (I start at 9am) to ensure I could get off early at 4:00pm to pick up the packages from our package lady before she closed. Without fail, I was sucked into work and couldn’t leave until 5pm. Got home and my hubby had gotten it for me. Of course, I had tons of work to do last night so I ended up working for 3 hours straight before even touching the box.
Once I did open it, oh boy was it fun!!! I carefully took it out and did the typical Jenna and inspected every inch :). I was finally able to see the weight of the camera without crazy heavy lenses attached or the security bars attached. It fits in my hand like a glove, a beautiful glorious expensive glove. Oh how I love it!!
I did some basic set up, then cracked open my lens! Started taking the pictures and was utterly suprised at how amazing it is. Trust me, I shot this TONSSSSSSSSS before buying but there’s only so many things to shoot in the store. I took tons of pictures of Jake as he watched basketball. I planned to load them last night… however it required me downloading the software to my computer and I just didn’t have the desire to do that. It takes beautiful pictures. The bokeh is pretty :) Just holding it reinforces that I made the right choice!
I can’t wait to play more tonight! I am meeting some friends for drinks, but plan to pull an all-nighter … of fun :) I need to work on buying my camera bag because I don’t want to take this outside ANYWHERE without a bag.
I brought the manual book with me today to work. Yes, I read tons on my break trying to teach myself as much as possible about the functionality of the camera. I’m very familiar with it, but there are a few things that I’m not 100% sure how to use.
Now comes time to practice! I hope to go home soon to shoot my niece, nephews, etc. I’ve had quite a few friends offer up themselves and/or their family in an effort to build my portfolio – can’t wait!
I’m also in negotiations with the person that owns the domain I want. Here’s hoping I get it!! So excited.
Until next time
<3 jenna
After months of research and comparison… and reading blog after blog…. and review after review… and going into store after store to test them out for hours on end…
I’m happy to announce that I’ve finally ordered my dSLR camera!!!!
Literally HOURS upon HOURS went into this decision. I first posted back in September HERE trying to determine which brand to go with. I was completely torn because the two main cameras I was looking at were each considered the best of their brand. What one camera would have the advantage in… so too would the other brand have a different advantage. My decision came down to how it felt and using psychology tips from my husband. As corny as it sounds, he had me close my eyes and picture myself out on a beautiful day getting ready to shoot a kids session. Then reaching into my bag to grab out my camera, what was the one I saw? Yea it didn’t work perfectly because I saw both cameras in there :) BUT it totally helped. I had to keep visualizing which would be the best for me.
The winner??
That’s right, I decided to go Canon. I can’t begin to describe how tough it was to decide. I had been researching the Nikon for 6+ months and can literally tell you every single geeked out piece of info you could ever want. Because of the time I spent looking at it, it was really hard to be convinced otherwise to move to a different camera (especially one more expensive). What it came down to was how it felt. The Canon is a professional camera and feels that way. The Nikon was more of a semi-pro level and you could feel it. The ergonomics of the Canon just seem a bit better. The other bit that helped me decide is looking long-term. Transferring family systems isn’t easy or cheap. If you start with Nikon, you invest a lot into that family with the body and all the glass. If you go to switch to Canon later on, you can’t reuse your glass so you end up losing money on it all. Although I think Nikon has some amazing cameras, Canon is just a bit more impressive especially when it comes to their full-frame cameras. Lastly, due to the flooding in Thailand… the Nikon I was looking at wouldn’t be available in ANY location until late March. Booo.
My camera will arrive this Wednesday – YES 2 DAYS AWAY!!! I canNOT wait. I’ll let you know how it is after I get a chance to really play with it in my home setting and NOT in a store. Pretty sure Best Buy and Ritz are going to miss my frequent stops every night :)
Happy day :)
Until next time
<3 jenna
Alas, I return. Work has become insane the past few weeks leaving me working very late each night with no time to attend to my blog.
When I’m not working, I’m obsessing over which dSLR to buy. Friends let me tell you that I am so confused. I finally settled on a specific brand and model, but I haven’t bought it yet because I keep pushing off dropping that much money. I’m finally ready and went into Best Buy this past weekend when I was home. The person there was recommending another brand for consideration. Then I go to the Best Buy in Chicago on Monday and they are clueless. Then last night I went to Ritz Camera and they threw out a totally new brand into the mix. Holy moly! Decisions decisions.
I’m also completely obsessing over super geeky things like building my website and dealing with attempting to privately buy a domain name from someone.
The worst part of being this busy? I haven’t had any time to devote to figuring out my next DIY project :) I was on a hot streak for awhile. I think my next feat will be putting together my gallery wall. I purchased my frames MONTHS ago but have been waiting for my wedding pictures and a few canvases from my photographer to be supplied. Much of my placement will surround those so I can’t begin until I get those. Right now I have standard black-brown frames of all different sizes. I’m trying to decide if I should keep them the original color to match my dark furniture or paint them white or go for color with them. The natural colors of this one are pretty, but idk if I want to go with B&W images…
The second project I want to do, which is smaller, is to give my pillows a new look. I would LOVE to make my own pillows however it’s so pricey to do that AND will the fabric you select be your fave forever? I’m a girl of changing style so here’s a solution…
{ via }
It’s a pillow cover that’s so easy to make it’s not funny. No sewing required :) You just need to know how to tie a know, which is outlined in the link below the photo. Super easy, super fun, super flexible, and hopefully super cost effective. You can use them on existing throw pillows or find super cheap pillows to use! LOVE!
What’s your next DIY?
Until next time
<3 jenna
beautifully wonderful life 
