The Gold Hope Project

I am overjoyed to be able to volunteer for the Gold Hope Project as both a participating photographer and an area coordinator for the Dallas Fort Worth Area. This amazing organization provides portraits for children battling cancer.

Stay tuned to this blog for updates as I begin to photograph these brave little fighters, or nominate your own little fighter over at http://www.goldhopeproject.com/apply1.html

Photo Tip of the Day: Turn Around

Today's photography tip comes courtesy of my Saturday session with an adorable 3-child family.

While taking mommy-daughter portraits, I begin to hear serious laughter directly behind me, where the other family members are "patiently" waiting for their turns.

So I turn around.

And I see this.

© Leia Jobe 2012.

ADORABLE.

So pay attention to what's happening behind you... Because, after all, hindsight is 20/20. :)

November Light + Trees

Amazing morning shoot the other day with an adorable blended family, an incredible tree, and some great light.

Love it. :)

Oh, yes: one more thing... Did I mention the children are all tiny little superheroes?!

LEIAhats: the PUMPKIN collection

Shot a fresh new ad campaign yesterday for my LEIAhats line.... Do you love it?!

Newborn Sessions and Baby Cocoons

I've been crocheting baby cocoons and hats for all my newborn shoots lately... Just last week I completed this cute little ensemble for a sweet baby boy... Meet Gabriel Thomas!!!

Football cocoon and photography © Leia Jobe 2012.

Photo Classes: Saturdays in September

I am offering a weekly photo class beginning this Saturday at 9 a.m. (CST) located in Cleburne, Texas. If you would like to attend, please fill out this easy form... and I will see you on Saturday!

Online Ticketing for Photography Class powered by Eventbrite

Happy Labor Day Weekend

Hello my wonderful readers!!

I hope all of you are having a fantastic Labor Day Weekend... I started mine with a few impromptu nature and light streak shots, as well as some portraits of my dog, who is now almost 15 years old and suddenly looks like a puppy again.

Hope you enjoy these quick little photos... Take a close look at the green image with yellow flowers and notice the crawly thing with six legs (AND know that I didn't even notice the bug until I opened these shots in Lightroom... and boy was I surprised. Bugs are NOT my favorite thing!)

Don't forget to always snap a few shots of that one random flower at the end of all your sessions... I did, and ended up with some amazing stuff, including two bugs that I actually (kind of) like! :)

Happy weekend, everybody!!!

Movie "Remake"

I totally LOVE the original Alfred Hitchcock film "Rear Window" starring Grace Kelly and James Stewart. (Although, yes, I do make good use of the pause and fast forward buttons on the remote control if, as I inevitably do, I get a little frightened).

So today I thought I would take a chance on a remake of the film starring none other than Christopher Reeve and Daryl Hannah, both lovely and talented actors.

TERRIBLE idea.

Sometimes you shouldn't mess with greatness.

Go on, watch them both and tell me I was wrong.

Here is my favorite version, for sure:

Song Color

So I am entirely inspired by Damien Rice and Marketa Irglova's music... I am currently listening to my Glen Hansard station on Pandora, and trying (very, very hard) to stay uninspired long enough to complete my work for the day so that I can go create something... lots of things... many things. As many things as there are words in a Damien Rice song.

I like to make things:

And, oddly, the things I make are usually the same color as most of the songs I've been listening to that day...

Today, well... I wonder what color we're going to be.

Camera Advice

I get asked all the time for camera advice... People of all experience levels want to know what the best camera is for the money.

Recently, I have recommended this Canon body and lens to many people, as it seems to suit the widest variety of users (from amateur stay-at-home DIYers and small business owners to semi-pros).

Here, a great deal on a great starter camera from the always great amazon.com:

*For specific questions on how to adapt this gear to your personal shooting situation, please contact me via my photography website, www.leiajobe.com*


Purchase this camera:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-T3i-Processor-Vari-Angle-Body/dp/B004M170YC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1334754410&sr=8-2

With this lens:
http://www.amazon.com/Canon-50mm-1-8-Camera-Lens/dp/B00007E7JU/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1334754499&sr=1-2

And you are all set to start photographing almost anything. (High speed professional sports and wildlife, however, might be a bit out of this camera's "range"... but you know, sometimes incongruities are awesome. So just keep shooting.)

Orchids

I am completely fascinated by orchids.

This gorgeous example now lives with me, and I took some pictures of its lovely face... (the text is from my blog project, www.dailythanks.org)

Rayon, Modal, and Tencel, Too

Recently I have been on the hunt for a reasonably priced, high quality, fitted t-shirt, and, much to my chagrin, most of the shirts I found were either partly or fully made out of modal. For me, modal seems a bit too see-through, and although the color is often vibrant, the draping and lack of structure is extremely unflattering.

I wanted cotton.

http://www.theory.com/neon-tee/cinel/883591635642,default,pd.html?start=84&cgid=womens-shop-all

And so today, I found this lovely neon t-shirt for sale on the theory site, and got all fired up about the lack of "natural" fibers in every market, from high to low. And so I googled rayon, modal, and tencel.

I read this article, expecting the author to be equally frustrated about the pervasiveness of these crazy non-cotton fabrics.

http://www.yesitsorganic.com/rayon-modal-tencel-environmental-friends-or-foes.html

And yet, somehow, I came away from the article feeling strangely sympathetic to tencel. Maybe I should give it half a chance...

But then again...

I wonder if people ever felt this way about polyester.

York Peppermint Patties

Okay, so even though I have food allergies, I still sometimes sneak a few bites of a York Peppermint Patty... It's one of my favorite little treats!!

And... as if I didn't love the peppermint-y, chocolate-y stuff enough, they launched this totally adorable commercial that is really hard to stop watching...

On a larger note, I think commercials like this will become more and more en vogue. In a world where it's hard to find a moment of silence, this quiet little gem stands out, and is a really powerful advertisement. Ad agencies, take note. We like this. We like this stuff...

New Girl

So I've got to say one of my favorite shows on television at the moment is "New Girl"... Zooey Deschanel is quirky and hilarious, and I'm not ashamed to admit that more than one of my fashion choices this week has been inspired by her colorful wardrobe on the show.

I found this yellow jacket at a thrift store and combined it with a fluffy hat of my own creation and some quirky pink satin gloves for a recent photo shoot, and I'm kinda loving the nerdy, bright, sweet, totally out there feeling of dressing for oneself (and on a budget, too!) versus actually matching and looking trendy.

Because these days, being yourself is the new trend, anyway.

© Mark Nelson

Post-Christmas Pinks

So you know how some people get post-Christmas blues? That sadness that comes with the loss of the happiest time of year? Well, mine are pink. It's kind of a rosy glow, a post-Christmas happy feeling. I get nostalgic for the Christmas season, and sometimes, in the cold, sweet air of February, want to wrap myself up in it. And so I listen to music like this:

Photo Tip of The Day

Hi everybody!!

Today's photo tip involves one of my favorite things: COLOR! It's my personal opinion that the world looks better when it is very colorful, bright, and a little out of focus... which brings us to these photos:

These photos were posted today (by me!) on www.dailythanks.org, a gratitude project website. The first is a close up of a glass vase, taken with a handheld Canon 50D, indoors, at noon, with only window light. (Settings 1/10 second at f5, iso 100).

The abstract shine of the window light on the textured surface of the vase reminded me of a nebula, so I shot handheld and got a little camera shake to add to the "galactic" feel. I imported into Lightroom, ramped up the vibrance about 35 points, added text in photoshop, and voila... Gorgeous, darling.

The second (red/orange/purple) photo is shot similarly using a different glass mosaic vase, as is the third photo... The only difference being that I added a few light paintbrush stroke starbursts in yellow to the final shot to imply raindrops.

So that's my color tip of the day: Find something bright, gorgeous, and shiny; Shoot it slightly out of focus; Ramp up the vibrant color. Done.