Friday, December 28, 2007

Growing your business and your photography

I just wanted to remind you that there are only three more days to get the December rate of $300 for the Lighting Seminar that I am offering with John Mireles. We are nearly full, so sign up soon!

click here to sign up

Also, I am offering a 10% discount on my "Tea for Two" private mentorships for those who are also signed up for the Lighting Seminar. The Tea for Two is a really casual, fun way to learn. I have really enjoyed teaching photographers from around the country! Check out the following quotes written both to me and about me from a few of them.

Email me directly at jules@julesbianchi.com for more information on the Tea for Two.

"This past Saturday I flew into my home town of San Diego to meet fab photographer Jules Bianchi. She has these great 'Tea for Two' sessions that allow photographers like myself to learn about topics such as Branding, Marketing, Lighting, Workflow...to name a few. Jules was so incredibly generous with her knowledge and smart about the business. I learned a ton! Jules was also kind enough to take me along to shoot her San Diego wedding with her. It was great to see her at work!" Erin Kate of Erin Kate Photography, Salt Lake City, Utah

"My 'Tea for Two' session was amazing. Having you one on one was invaluable. What else can I say. I'm a better photographer because of it. I've been to several seminars with a few of the greats...Joe Buissink, Bambi Cantrell, Jerry Ghionis...all were awesome, but you gain something different one on one that I don't think you can compare. Thank you for answering my long list of questions, showing me some cool new tricks and for helping me become better than I was. That's huge, and I so appreciate it." Amy Trahant of Take Aim Photography, Connecticut

"Thanks for sharing your time with me, Jules. Talking to you about my specific concerns was like confiding in a friend who not only had my best interest in mind, but also understands photography and business. I look forward to another session in the future. Keep up the positive energy!" Veronica Slavin, Ventura California

"Mentoring with Jules has been a wonderful turning point in my business. She not only helped me see where I was truly at, but she helped me realize what I needed to do to bring my business to where I wanted it to go. She then gave me some steps so that I could begin to take my business to that next level. I am working on making many of the changes we talked about, and I am looking forward to seeing everything unfold. Jules was so easy to talk to because she has such a wonderful, warm and fun personality. I can't thank Jules enough for the time she spent with me!" Michelle Robinson of Michelle Robinson Photography, North Carolina

"Jules’ Tea for Two mentoring session was a great insight to how she has created a very unique brand in a fast growing industry. I feel that the information I learned can be applied to so many different areas of my business and will be a turning point in my business this year." Mike Mijangos of Mango Tree Photography, Hawaii

"Jules, I really enjoyed meeting with you. You were easy to talk to and gave me some great ideas for my business." Melody Farrin of Melody Farrin Photography, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I'm having such a lovely day with my family...I hope you are, too!

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Monday, December 17, 2007

2007 Wedding Greatest Hits!!

It was very difficult to pick my favorites from all the weddings I've shot and second shot on this year to make my 2007 Wedding Greatest Hits slideshow. I want to tell you how fortunate I feel every day to have such a fulfilling job and amazing clients. Thank you to all of my clients who have trusted me to create images for them from their most important day.

I also want to thank my friends Dina Douglass, Julie Weaver, Debra Gerson, Ann Hamilton and Robert Evans for doing second shooter swaps with me. I feel so lucky to have such talented friends to shoot with!

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Professional Photographer Magazine

This morning, my friend April Rocha sent me an email telling me there was a photograph of ME in the latest issue of Professional Photographer Magazine! I flipped through and sure enough, I found this pic that Becker captured of David Jay taking a self-portrait of himself, Jessica Claire, Dane Sanders and me.

The article celebrates 100 years of photography and quotes David Jay as he shares about his amazing Open Source Photo forum. OSP is a fantastic place for photographers - both seasoned and new alike - to share and learn. Way to go, DJ!!

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Sunday, December 16, 2007

The best contracts in the business

As most of you know, I am bringing on a new associate in 2008. Just to make sure we were both covered, I wanted to get a solid contract in place. I am so pleased with my new contract, I thought I would share this fantastic photographer's tip with you!

If you are in need of ANY type of photography contract, whether its for your clients, second shooters, associate shooters or portrait clients, look no further than John Mireles' Photographer's Toolkit. He offers business tools for smart photographers as well as enlightening workshops and seminars.

In FACT, if your loved one is a photographer and you are still looking for that perfect gift, consider sending him or her to the Light & Fast Seminar that I am teaming up with John to provide this January. Cost is $300 if you sign up in December, $350 if you wait until January. We are nearly full, so sign up now!

Click here to learn more about the Light & Fast Seminar.

Click here to learn more about Photographer's Toolkit.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Family Holiday portrait

I have been photographing the O'Donnell family for years, and I just adore them. This year, we waited to take the family photograph until the newest member, Maeve, was born (December 10th!) Because we waited so long, we were able to include the Christmas tree which was just decorated last night. Are they not just about the cutest family you've ever seen?

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PUG Holiday Party

I just LOVE the holidays! As most of you know, I am the leader for the Los Angeles Pictage User Group. We meet once a month to network, listen to speakers and learn about the latest goings on at Pictage. However, this month in lieu of a meeting we had a party with both the Orange County and Clairmont PUGs at the very cool Life on Wilshire. I was thrilled with huge the turn-out!!

One of my PUG members, Zephrine Hanson, came up to me as she was leaving just to tell me how much she has appreciated the monthly meetings. She told me that not only has she really grown in her business because of them, but the community that Pictage and the PUGs has provided her as a photographer has been invaluable. I couldn't agree more... its nice to have a community of friends who understand the kind of crazy life photographers lead. If you are a photographer in the Los Angeles area, feel free to come join us!!



PUG leaders Lauren Hillary, Julie Weaver & Jules Bianchi



The party people!!!







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Sunday, December 09, 2007

Happy Holidays!

This is the last week of the year that Jules Bianchi Photography will be open. I'm excited to be shooting my last wedding of 2007 next weekend and then taking a much needed break... don't worry, though, we'll be starting right up again with our first wedding of 2008 on January 5th!

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Friday, December 07, 2007

Top Secret Film Shoot!

Yesterday I had the fun opportunity to be the set photographer for a Top Secret project being filmed by the talented Ron Dawson of Cinematic Studios. Although I can't say who its for or who is starring in it, I was given permission to release these photos from the set. I can say, however, when the movie comes out you don't want to miss it!! Its gonna be great!













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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Happy St. Nicholas Day!!!

My mother is Ukrainian, so every 6th of December we celebrate St. Nicholas Day. This is the day we wake up to our stockings filled with goodies! Since I haven't lived with my mother for many many years, instead of waking up to stockings, I now find exciting packages on my doorstep!!

This year was a really BIG box with a cute Hello Kitty stocking that had my name embroidered on the front! There were gifts for me, Olive & Abigail.

Check it out! THANK YOU, MOM! Um, I mean St. Nick!!





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Leather Craftsmen Holiday Party!

Every year, Leather Craftsmen invites all of the photographers who use their fantastic albums to their annual Pizza Holiday Party. The party is always at Robert Evans' Studio, and this year it was jam packed!! There were so many people to catch up with, but here are a few faces I managed to get snaps of with my Point-and-Shoot, too.

First let me say congratulations to the three following husband-wife photography teams who are expecting babies soon!

Cat & Adi of Next Exit Photography



Nate & Jen of B&G Photography



Ryan & Carrie of Ryan Phillips Photography



And to Kim Fox, who recently had her baby, Tessa! (What a cutie!)



At the party...

Me and Brian Kramer



Lauren Hillary, John Solano & Sara France



Jessica Claire & Chenin Boutwell



John Mireles, Jessica Claire & Ira Gershoff



Joe Photo & Becker



Me and Jon Barber



Joshua Bobrove & Sterling Franken-Steffen



Dina Douglass & Elice Schwartz



Ann Kelley & Marianne Lozano



The gracious host, Robert Evans and me!

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Kathy Weller Pet Portraits

I believe it was one of my loyal blog followers, Jeanne, who originally told me about the fabulous Pet Portraiture artist, Kathy Weller (and if it wasn't you, Jeanne, then whomever it was, please leave a comment!)

As a gift to myself, I decided to get my pet's portraits painted by Kathy. If you have a pet lover in your life that you'd like to get a very original gift for, this is a really fun idea! Click here to check out her site.

This is the amazing portrait she created of Olive & Abigail! I love that she included some of my favorite things such as my vintage camera collection, Blythe, Pysanky and sunflowers as well as two of Olive's favorite toys and a greenie, her favorite snack.



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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

San Marino & Patina Wedding

heryati & michael
december 2, 2007

The rain here in Los Angeles departed just in time for Heryati & Michael's wedding this past Sunday. We started the day at the home of Heryati's parents, took portraits at the lovely Descanso Gardens, shot the marriage celebration at St. Felicitas and Perpetua Church in San Marino, and then headed downtown to Patina at the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the reception.

I love Heryati and Michael because even though they've been together for over 10 years, they were both still so sweetly emotional on their wedding day!



I love this simple shot that Shannon took of Heryati's fantastic shoes:



And I also love this one that Joy caught when they tied the sash of Heryati's Monique Lhuillier gown!















Michael gave his bride a quick kiss as they got to the end of the aisle...



There was a big sign that read "happiness" in Chinese as we entered Heryati's house! I thought it was the perfect place to hang the rings. I also adored the sweet inscription inside both of their rings.





At Descanso Gardens...









I love this cute pose Shannon shot!



Thanks, Shannon, for this excellent establishing shot...I love how you can see downtown in the background.



Michael gave a very thoughtful speech to his new wife.





I thought this self portrait of me, Joy & Shannon Lott taken with my 24-70mm was really funny. The three of us have such a good time together!

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Sunday, December 02, 2007

Beyond Just Images Contest

The Australian Photography Forum, Beyond Just Images, asked me to participate in their "12 Days of Christmas" Contest. The first prize of the 12 Days is a free set of my custom presets!

They recently added a "Library" area to the forum and are building it up as a resource area where photographers from all stages (just starting out right through to Top Level Professionals) can go to find source materials, training, information, etc. They are looking to help enable members to take and deliver the very best images they can for their business and for the industry as a whole. For the competition, all members have to do is add a link, review, text, etc, to the new library area of the forum.

The members have been instructed to come to my blog to find out the winner for Day One... and the winner is:

Heidi Brand! Congratulations, Heidi! The presets are SO fun, you'll love them!

If anyone else is interested in finding out more about my custom presets, just shoot me an email jules@julesbianchi.com.

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Saturday, December 01, 2007

Happy Holidays!

I love having my sister in town! Joy flew in today to shoot a wedding with me this weekend. Tonight we got into the holiday spirit and bought a little tree for my house! Joy strung popcorn while I made bows and put on the lights. Miss Abigail and Olive helped celebrate as well.





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