forever missed, never forgotten

Today is the United States Marine Corps 236th Birthday! My Uncle Chris was a Marine and loved his job more than anything. Unfortunately, he passed away in a drunk driving accident 13 years ago. Today his memory is especially with me. RIP Staff Srgt. Christopher Allen Johnson, truly missed but never forgotten. Semper Fi ♥

In his honor, here are a few pictures of him that I love :)

i am thankful!

in honor of thanksgiving. one thankful for each day this month!

i am thankful for...

1. still being madly in love with my highschool sweetheart after 4 & a half years. we've been through a lot, but its been worth it all. i'm proud to say he's still mine.

2. having an amazing family, supportive sorority sisters, and friends i can always count on. i have chose to surround myself with awesome people and am grateful everyday.

3. having a roof over my head, food in my belly, shoes on my feet, and clothes on my back. i know there are so many people that go without one or all of those things.

4. having a job that i absolutely love! its not too often someone can be happy about going to work everyday.

5. my health. with all my usual difficulties; ear loss, having glasses, knee problems, crappy immune system, etc. lately i haven't been sick and my ear loss is at a stable rate! i haven't had a serious ear infection in over a year (which is INCREDIBLE!)

6. having the ability to notice things going on around me and being able to learn from others mistakes. it has helped me countless times and makes me appriciate the simple things.

7. having a passion in life. not everyone has something that they love to do. i'm glad i have a creative outlet; photography <3

8. my education. Luckily, the State of Missouri has paid for majority of my college expenses :)

9. my grandparents - they never fail to support my decisions, even if they disagree. i love them times a million!

10. bestfriends. (notice the plural). i have a long list of people who i could call at even given moment and they'll listen. even when im being ridiculous.

11. guilty pleasures. stupid reality shows & sweets (grandma taught me best!) :)

12. romantic love stories, whether its a movie or a book.

13. music, its good for the soul.

14. having a good head on my shoulders. so many people in this world, too many that I know, get lost in the hardships of this world & it gets them into trouble.

15. nature's beauty; a rainbow, rainy day, summer sunshine, winter's blanket of sparkle, autumn's warm colors, spring & birds chirping, freshly mowed grass, blue birds, baby animals, a waterfall, etc.

16. pj's. so comfy :)

17. holidays, which mean family time. i don't get enough time to see everyone and cherish every minute.

18. children smiling. it just doesn't get better than that.

19. seeing little old couples out and about. just melts my heart.

20. disney movies. they're timeless.

21. starbucks coffee - makes any bad day better.

22. humor, makes life worth while.

23. a running vehicle. knock on wood it stays that way haha

24. when old friends magically reappear in my life.

25. being an American. I believe this is the greatest country to live in & am so glad I wasn't born in some third world country where women are slaves or some crazy crap.

26. traditions - whether its family or cultural.

27. not being an only child. I would have been a spoiled brat.

28. Faith. God does awesome things and I try not to doubt his plans.

29. having some direction in my life. I know what I want, what I don't want, and still am making decisions everyday that will better myself.

30. that the pilgrims came to the America's and ate turkey. Thanksgiving is aweesome! I looovee turkey.


What are you thankful for? :)

manifesto

wonderful idea from build a little biz, an awesome site for all sorts of great information and inspiration!!

Amazing Story :)

As some of you may know, I work at Charley's Angels Photography at Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joe. Today, work was amazing! :) Its days like today that make me love my job, not only the fact that I take pictures of newborns, but that I can touch someones life while doing so. Because of my job, a father who is stationed overseas was able to see his daughter for the first time. He had not seen pictures of her at all, until I did my regular 30 minute shoot, fighting the crying and screaming battle with the little one. It's days like today that I am grateful to be an American and proud of my job as a photographer!

interview with the photographer

1. Where did your creative spark begin-can you trace the 
path/timeline that got you to where you are today?

• It wasn't until recently, the past couple of years, that I decided to pursue my photography career. I have come to realize that photography has been a huge part of my life, dating back to a young child. I can remember at just about every holiday or family function one of my grandma's having a camera and I would steal it from them. My cousin and I would have mini photo shoots of each other playing dress up and take pictures of us taking one of the little ones on ride around in the stroller. I blame my career/addiction to my grandmother's and I would not change a single thing about it!

2. What inspires your creativity?

• Happiness. Being able to portray a person or a group's emotions in a photograph for many other people to see and feel, even if they have no idea who the subject is or what the event is of, is the greatest inspiration. The newly changed name Inspire.Capture.Create is my inspiration in its self. 

• Inspire happiness. Capture life's precious moments. Create lasting memories.

3. Where do you live & how does it influence you?

• I live around Kansas City, MO Metro Area. Technically, I live in a small town with less than 500 people, but its only about 20 minutes away from the North Kansas City area. I think having the small town and city style of life so close to each other helps me relate to just about anyone in the world. I am a stranger to no one and having a rather large family helps that. 

4. How have you grown your business from an idea to 
where it is now?

• I first got the idea of having a photography business my senior year of high school. This led me to deciding to go to school and pursue my dreams. At first I decided I would go to school for Business Management and maybe go to an Art school after I got my Bachelors degree. Since I started school, things have changed, I plan to change my major to Fine Arts with an emphasis in Photography, possibly with a Minor in Business. I haven't quite decided yet. Also, I would like to do something with Design. I love designing different things like announcements, logos, advertisements, etc.  

5. What do you create with & why?

• I use a program called 5DFly Photo Design. I use this to design photo announcements, fliers, title pictures, etc. To edit pictures I use GIMP, a free simple version of PhotoShop. Also I have a program called PhotoScape, which is somewhat like PhotoShop. Sometimes, I use Picasa 3. Facebook, Blogger, and Yahoo e-mail are my means of communication.

6. Do you keep a journal or sketchbook? Can you show 
me your workspace or a part of your process?

• I don't have a journal or sketchbook, but I do have a blog and a blog gallery, where I post my thoughts, interesting things I find on the web, ideas, and of course pictures. Some are random, some have an actual purpose. I like to ramble on sometimes :)

7. What did you overcome to be here now?

• Technical and financial difficulties. 
• Technical because it was hard to choose how to display my stuff, whether or not to get a professional website or to even get a blog. I have never blogged before I got my photography stuff started, so it was like entering a whole new arena of challenges. 
• Financial because I had to decide if I was going to be able to afford the name brand things, like a website, "professional" logo, brand information, etc. I had to find a way to make it affordable since I am still in school and can barely make it paycheck to paycheck (insert ridiculous gas price of the week!).

8. What have you learned so far about business/creativity 
that you can share with others?

• I have noticed that I am very very very picky and that I am a perfectionist! I tried too hard to make everything the best. Sometimes this is a bad thing because its time consuming, but also it's a good thing because I view my products and creations as if I were the customer and how I would like everything to be. 
• Advise: Think about your business the way you want your customers do, then you'll be sucessful.

9. Where are you headed?

• I hope to graduate someday :)
• I want to wake up everyday excited about work.
• I want to make a difference in someone's life.
• I want to have my own small business out of my basement, so I can be a stay at home mom, when the time comes for me to have children.
• I want to be financially stable to have a job I love and a life better than I had growing up.
• I want my creativity and artistic talent to always be challenged.

10. How can people connect with you?

• Facebook
• Inspire.Capture.Create
• E-mail
• icc.photography@yahoo.com
• Phone
• 816.582.0084

BIZ LADIES: HOW TO DESIGN THE PERFECT PACKAGING

this site is awesome! : )

http://www.designsponge.com/2010/04/biz-ladies-how-to-design-the-perfect-packaging.html

new facebook page!

Go check out our new facebook page today!

www.facebook.com/Inspire.Capture.Create

:)

latest deal :)

be sure to get in on this special deal! :) e-mail inspire.capture.create photography your order today! don't forget all announcements are customized, so if you have something in mind that we don't ready have, be sure to let us know!

until next time,
jle

baby shower sweets ideas

here are some awesome ideas for a baby shower :) 

oh the joys of school.....and the stress begins!

my excuse for not being on in forever is that school has begun and im on information overload! this semester is going to be great! good news though, i plan to talk to my advisor about officially switching my major to fine arts! :) yipeeeeeeeeeee!

don't forget...i'm still a broke college kid, so set up your appointment today!

until next time,
j.le

spread the word!

referral program

most of my business comes from family and friends, so to show my appreciation for my current and future clients; i am starting a referral card program!

current clients

go ahead, start spreading the word about your inspire.capture.create photography experience to receive this incredible deal!

details

in your welcome pack you are given 4 referral cards. each time a new client books me with your referral card, you will get 5 referral points. once 20 points have been reached you will be given a free mini session.

you may schedule your free mini session once the new client(s) book and pay for the upfront consultation portion of their session. all 4 referral clients must be booked and upfront payment paid in order to receive free mini session.

the mini portrait session may be used for newborn, maternity, children, family, senior, couples and engagement sessions only.

a mini session consists of the following:

·         30 to 45 minute session

·         1 location

·         1 clothing choice

·         e-mail containing edited images, sent within 14 days of session

if you refer a client that books a wedding – you get a free 8x10 print at your next mini session!!

i do not have a limit on how many referrals you give, so feel free to take advantage of this as often as you like! unfortunately, if you have already have been given a referral card once, you may not be use another referral card again.

offer not refundable, transferable, or redeemable for cash and credits and may not be used toward prints or gifts

summer

it sure is hot here in missouri as we go into august this next week. tonight i was riding in the car with my boyfriend and as the sun was just going down the sky was vibrant, beautiful rainbow colors. i wished that i had my camera with me, but unfortunately i didn't. anyhow, summer is my favorite season of the year, running neck and neck with spring!

here is a picture from last summer, right around the 4th of july

what i love about summer

• the longer days
• swimming at the lake
• flip flops
• toe nail polish, because it gets to be shown
• shorts
• beautiful sunsets/sunrises
• heat
• tan, although i'm lacking that this year
• softball season
• fresh veggies from the garden!
• lemonade
• my birthday, which was yesterday!
• fresh cut grass
• corn fields that go on and on for miles
• cruising down backroads with the windows down 
• sunglasses
• lightening bugs
• a fan to cool you off at night
• wildflowers
• bar-b-que
• smores

those are a few things i love about summer, what about you? comment below.

it's my BIRTHDAY!

in honor of my birthday, free baby announcements!

thanks for stopping by! you're great!

where do you see yourself in five years?

only because i am a lame-o, i decided to look up a writing prompt to get the juices flowing...and this is the prompt i was given - where do you see yourself in five years?

since i am only eighteen, well nineteen in four days! yay!! - anyways, considering that i am only eighteen, i see a lot of things changing within the next five years. i plan to be out of college, working as a photographer full time, on my own. i plan to be very successful and still loving every part of photography. 

i plan to be engaged, planning my wedding to the love of my life, austin scott hake, who i have been with since my freshman year of high school. or if i am already married by 2016, then i would like to either be pregnant or trying to build a family. 

 i want to be living comfortably, drive a ford escape, live in a big white house with a wrap around porch, in the middle of no where, on top of a big hill. i want to be happy, enjoying all the simple things in life. i want to make an impact on at least one person's life.

i want gas prices to be reasonable, i want my "big girl" adult life to be challenging, but not overwhelming. i want my relationship with my parents to be stronger. i want two dogs - a chocolate lab (named Hank) and a yorkie (named Daisy), maybe a fat cat or two.

i want my opinions to be cherished, not shut out. i want to develop many friendships with people of all walks of life. i just want to be happy...

wedding photos: mr & mrs mcnutt

it was an honor and my pleasure to photograph my sorority mom's wedding friday night. with it being the first "official" wedding i have ever shot, i was a tad bit nervous. but as usual when i get a camera in my hands, i was relaxed and did my thing! everything went perfectly smooth! luckily, the oh so lovely muggy missouri july humidity did not stop anyone from having a great time and giving hugs to congratulate the new couple.

i got the chance, shortly after the ceremony, to sneak away with matt and krysten just to get a few shots of them alone. the love the have for each other just glowed, even with some hot passionate kissing, which lasted just a few seconds longer than the pose required! :)

congrats again guys! i hope you and your family enjoy the pictures!

click here to view them all!

j.le <3

today is the day!!

congrats to the soon-to-be mr. & mrs. matthew mcnutt! i am honored to shoot your wedding! :)

latest props

here are a few props that I have available upon request.

tutu's

baskets

hats

marketing genius!

i just found an amazing website for marketing/photography stuff! this chick knows what she's doing!! check out her site & her flickr account! amazing stuff!! 

http://paperieboutique.com