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I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that I have been experiencing errors with my contact form over the last week or so. I have received several inquiries, but they are coming through without contact information attached. If you have attempted to get in touch with me via my contact form, please resend your inquiry via email to info@jeanetteleblanc.com
Sorry for any inconvenience!
Jeanette
Last night I had the pleasure of seeing master photographer Joe Buissink speak at the local Pictage Users Group meeting here in Phoenix. It may be rather cliché to fall back on a Jerry Macguire-esque ‘he had me at hello’, but when you open with a line like this…
“The most important thing about your photography is who you are.”
…you’ve got to know I’m going to be leaning forward in my seat and hanging on every word.
It was inspirational from start to finish. This is a man who didn’t even start taking pictures until he was 44, and is now one of the biggest in the business (we’re talking a wedding clientele that includes J. Lo, Christina Aguilera, et al). He left a high powered corporate job to chase a dream and he’s a walking advertisement for living with passion.
I found myself scribbling in a little notebook all night, even when the lights were out during his slideshows, trying to record all the little bits of wisdom that flowed out of him during the presentation. Here (roughly paraphrased) are just some of the quotes…
…You leave a piece of yourself in every image you take. Take your favorite photos – the ones that really move you – into a quiet room and study them, FEEL them until you see yourself in the images and understand why you took them…
…When I’m at a wedding, and I’m feeling myself getting bored because I know what is going to come next and I’ve seen it a hundred times before (he says his vows, she gets teary eyed, click, click, click) I force myself to turn around. I’ve trained myself to see the same thing over and over again, so I have to train myself to see something different. I turn around, and then I see an entirely different, beautiful moment…
…Function from a place of passion, not paycheck. Tap into that passion and your work will soar…
…We get stuck in boxes we build for ourselves, allow yourself to play and experiment to break out of those boxes ..
…My camera is an extension of my arm and heart and eye, it’s almost like a paintbrush to me…
…When I see a moment but I don’t have my camera, I slap my leg and then snap my finger – what I’m doing is training my brain to capture those moments so that when I do have my camera, it will be automatic…
…I don’t shoot for my clients, I shoot for me. I only show what I love, so by the time they hire me we are already on the same page…
…There are moments to shoot that are THE moment, and then there are the moments between moments…those are what I look for…
…The simplest and easiest thing you can do to get your clients to show you beautiful emotions? Ask them how they feel right now. Then start shooting…
…There is no such thing as a perfect image, only a perfect moment…
…If your dream is elusive, hunt it down. Go after it. With all you can gather, go after it…
He also talked a lot about using your photography to give back to the community, highlighting his own work with Autism (he has two children on the spectrum) and Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. He encouraged everyone to seek out opportunities to get involved in work with a deeper meaning, speaking from the heart about how it has the potential to really expand your own body of work and the way you see the world.
Near the end of the night, when he was speaking about his wedding business, he told a story about how he prequalifies his clients by asking where they are getting married and how many guests are attending. Depending on their answers he knows if they are likely to be able to afford him (Beverly Hills Hotel with 300 guests? Check.). But then he spoke about how important it is to him not just that a client can pay for his work, but that they *get* his work on a soul level. How he actually structures his weddings so that he hires another photographer to be the primary shooter and he is officially the second shooter, so that all he does is shoot what he loves, what moves him, the moments he sees that others miss.
Shoot what you love. Advice does not get much more simple, or much more powerful than that.
****
And because no post is complete without a picture, here is a recent image that I feel deeply, not because it’s a perfect, award winning image, but just because it’s her…
I love my job!
Yesterday morning – while I imagine most sensible, responsible employed adults were stuck in their offices wearing sensible, responsible business casual clothing and doing sensible, responsible, employed adult things – I got to go play and get dirty in my favorite junkyard. My lovely photog friend Maggie and her family are moving to Dallas and she wanted some pictures of her uber-cute children before she left.
We stacked colorful old soda crates, we climbed between dumpsters, we examined discarded collections of nuts and bolts and beads and wires. We talked about bugs, and school and we laughed ourselves silly. And I get to call this work!
Jake and Kate are sweet, silly, charming, bubbly, loving and articulate children (much like their mama, come to think of it). Kate is an impish little pixie with an irrepressible sparkle in her eye, while Jack is a utterly darling, serious, soft spoken boy with a great imagination. Although we had only met once before yesterday’s session, we were immediate buddies, and had a grand time during our junkyard adventure.
Afterward – to make a fun morning even better - we headed to my favorite gelato spot (chocolate hazelnut gelato + blackberry sorbet = yum). I’m starting to think that all Phoenix photo sessions should end with some sort of icy treat 
Maggie – I’m going to miss you, and I wish you and your family all the best in Dallas. I’m so totally coming to visit (now that Dallas has both you AND Brenda – nothing could keep me away)!
(note to my other wonderful clients: based on Maggie’s departure in less than 24 hours – I made an executive decision to bump her to the head of the sneak peek line Don’t worry, I’m still working away on all your sessions and should have several to post over the week, so keep checking back!)
Gotta love a little lens distortion – kids can’t resist it when say I can show them a picture of themselves with a giant head!
Maggie was behind me for this one, creating some sort of crazy ‘movie’ for her kiddos. That lady has energy and enthusiasm enough for ten people! As for me, I just wanted to take that theater seat home with me.
And last but not least, this one is my favorite from the entire session. I couldn’t decide if I should post color or black and white, because I love them both for different reasons, so don’t be surprised if I add the color one some time soon!
I took a blogging hiatus for many months, so I have a backlog of old sessions that never got posted. I’ve been meaning to wade through them and share with you all, and when a window of time presented itself to me today I decided to get going! So, let’s take a trip back in time, shall we?
Wee Penelope Rose was born in late August, and was one of my favorite sessions ever. She lives in an adorable house filled with family history and memories of travels around the globe, has an incredibly beautiful mama and is utterly and completely surrounded by love. It’s normal, of course, for new families to take a bit of time to adjust. Theres a bit of awkwardness and a learning curve that comes with the territory (goodness knows I had many moments like that with both my girls). But some mothers are just so natural, grounded, and connected that you would swear they’ve been mothering for years already, and not just for a matter of days. That was Monique.
I adore being invited to peek into the lives of new families when they are still in the process of falling head over heels in love with one another. There’s something in the air in a household with a new baby that is so palpable that you can feel the love in the room, see it in their touch, hear it in their voices. After I leave a newborn session I usually ride on a baby-love-high all day long!
I’ve been having fun going back through my photo archives lately (more on that in a later post) and I decided to take a look back at this session, so these are mostly photos that Monique hasn’t even seen yet. Surprise Mama – I hope you like them!
I’ve wanted to take photos of this handsome little man for quite a while now, and finally got a chance. Dylan had just woken up from a long, long nap, and wasn’t too sure about the whole picture taking process, but there is something to be said for the opportunity to capture a sense of peaceful stillness in an otherwise active and busy toddler. Sometimes I think those shy, quiet moments lead to some of the most beautiful photos…and the way Dylan gazed directly into my lens (with those dreamy brown eyes, no less) left me utterly captivated. Honestly, I don’t know how his mama ever manages to say no to him…
