Some may call me biased, but there is no doubt in my mind about a few important things…

1. I have super cool clients
2. My super cool clients have awesome-cute-adorable-full-of-personality kiddos.
3. My super cool clients and their awesome-cute-adorable kids are seriously stylish folks.
4. My super cool seriously hip clients and their awesomely cute adorably stylish kids are head-over-heels, to the moon crazy in love with each another.
5. The whole entire downtown area makes for one crazy inspired phoenix family photographer.
6. I am one seriously lucky, super blessed, awesomely grateful photographer.

End of story. No argument.  That’s just the way it is.

Here’s a teaser of Saturday’s family photo session  at Heritage Square (a great spot for phoenix family photography).  Obviously – this picture doesn’t show you what the parents look like…but will you check out those crazy beautiful kids?!

As you can just imagine, Mom and Dad are also supermodel gorgeous.  What you can’t tell from the photo is that they are also beyond sweet and gracious, totally chill and talented artists to boot.  But don’t just take my word for it,  you’ll have to check back later to see for yourselves…

Valentines Day has come and gone, but LOVE is definitely still in the air!

Did you recently ask the girl (or boy) of your dreams to marry you and want the world to join you on cloud nine?  Did you just get engaged and are beaming with pride over the shiny ring on your finger?  Want to flaunt it some more? In honor of all the love Jeanette LeBlanc Photography is holding a contest for you newly engaged love birds.

What do you get for flaunting that shiny ring? The winner will receive a full engagement session and a $100 print credit ($400 value). In addition the winners of each local Flaunt Your Rock contest will be placed in a national contest to win a grand prize worth more than $450. The grand prize includes custom invites from Paper and Ink Studio, a wedding cake topper from Goose Grease, a custom clutch from Clutch That and a wedding accessory from Little White Chapel Accessories!

Of course, if you know me, you’ll know I like to throw my own little twist into everything.  So let’s be totally clear:

This contest is:

• All about creativity.  You’re gonna have to think outside the box and show me your personality.  You get two images and 140 characters to set yourself apart, so work it – you fabulous lovebirds, you.
• Totally inclusive – younger couples, older couples, second time around couples, same sex couples, tattooed and mohawk-ed couples, sit on the couch and watch reality TV couples…all are welcome and encouraged to enter.

This contest is not:

• About who has the biggest, shiniest or most expensive ring.  If you got your engagement ring from a gumball machine but you can show it off in your own divine style – you just might win.

What You Gotta Do:

• Fill out the entry form completely and send it in with all required information on or before midnight March 5^th, 2010. (Engaged Couples Only)
• Submit : One photograph of your ring & one photograph of yourselves*.  Have fun with this.  You can certainly submit the cheesy headshot from your Great Aunt Edna’s 65^th birthday party, but I’ll give you extra points if you get creative with it.  Images don’t have to be perfect, and they don’t need to be taken with a fancy camera (rock your iphone if you wanna).  Just be you, and I’m sure to fall in love.
• Tell me your love story, Twitter style.  I’ve given you a whole 140 characters with which to share your happily ever after.  Choose your words wisely.  Write in rhyme if you want.  Or in French.  Just be sincere, and I promise I’ll be impressed.
• Encourage all of your friends and family to vote for you. Facebook it.  Tweet it.  Send snail mail post cards to your entire graduating class.  The ring with the most votes wins!

*please do not submit images taken by another professional photographer.  You must own full rights to all submitted photographs.  Images taken by a professional photographer will be disqualified.

All submissions must be received by midnight March 5th, 2010.

The Fine Print:
The contest winner will be determined by public vote.  Although there are many different voting methods available, public vote was determined to be the best option for this contest.  If this option is not a good fit for you, we respectfully accept your decision to decline participation.  We will also actively monitor IP addresses and voting participation to ensure fair and reliable results.  We reserve the right to disqualify any entry or vote that appears to be suspicious.

All participants must agree to sign a model release allowing images to be displayed on Jeanette LeBlanc Photography’s blog. Winning participants must sign a release allowing images taken by Jeanette LeBlanc Photography to be displayed on web site, blog, Facebook and print advertising sources. Participants must also agree to all standard Terms & Conditions of Jeanette LeBlanc Photography

Regular session terms and conditions apply.

We require an electronically marked consent that you are entering this contest voluntarily and that Jeanette LeBlanc Photography is not promising any winnings or other compensation for participation.

Entries will be judged by a panel of photographers who will narrow down the selection to 3 rings. The finalists will be posted on Jeanette LeBlanc’s blog and the winner will be chosen via a public voting poll. Voting will occur between March 7-March 13, 2010. There are specific rules around voting that will be clarified during the voting round of the contest.

Winners will be announced on March 15th, 2010. Winning session must take place between March 22-May 1st.

Session will take place within metropolitan Phoenix.  Travel outside of the immediate Phoenix area will be subject to additional travel fees.

Don’t live in the Phoenix area? Have friends across the country? Check out these photographers who have Flaunt Your Rock contests running in other cities!

UNITED STATES

Boise, Idaho: Lucid Deisgn and Photo
Boston, Massachusetts: Helen Makadia Photography
Denver, Colorado: Keri Doolittle Photography
Columbia, Missouri: Ashley Turner Photography
Seattle, Washington: Susan of Whimsical Photo Design
Philadelphia and Main Line, Pennsylvania: April Ziegler Photography
Grand Rapids, Michigan: K. Holly Studios
Spokane, Washington: Cameron Glass Photography
Phoenix, Arizona: Jeanette LeBlanc Photography
Ft. Smith, Arkansas: Beaty Photography
San Jose, California: V and J Photography
Tampa/St. Petersburg: Stephanie Smith Photography

CANADA

Edmonton/Vancouver Canada: Jen Williams Photographer
Fort McMurray/Northern Alberta: Leslie Brown Photography
Powell River BC/Vancouver Island: Jennifer Kennedy
Central Interior, BC: Andrea Blair Photography
Langley, BC: Cathy Empey Photography

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Whew! Now that all of that is over, click on this link to enter the  Flaunt Your Rock Contest!

Location.  Location.  Location.

It’s as important to wedding planning as it is to real estate.   Every bride and groom want to find the perfect backdrop for their wedding day – and in a city the size of Phoenix, there are plenty of options for an amazing wedding venue.  Although a good photographer can create a beautiful image just about anywhere, the right location can bring your photographs to an entirely different level.

I was thrilled when the lovely Keri Doolittle invited me to join awesome local wedding photographers Kimberly Bee and Tina Burnham, along with some beautiful models, for an afternoon at one of the valley’s most stunning wedding venues.    The Boojum Tree is a hidden jewel, tucked away at the end of a little street, and full of more photographic yumminess than we could possibly capture.  Every time I turned a corner I stumbled upon yet another deliciously vintage, lush, romantic spot.  Tremendous variety, quirky, unexpected touches, private hideaways…

It was, quite seriously, a little slice of photography heaven.

I saw this phone booth and thought ‘Are you kidding me?’.   How to make a wedding photographer happy….give her a stunning model, a beautiful dress and a vintage red phone booth.  I tell you, I was giddy!

The flowers were BEAUTIFUL!

One of the things that matters most to wedding photographers is light, and The Boojum Tree has the most beautiful light almost everywhere – it’s like magic!

Oh – the shoes!  The hoes!  I leave almost all bridal sessions and weddings with the inexplicable urge to go shoe shopping!

Credits:

Many thanks to all the amazing vendors who made this session so incredible!  You all ROCK!

Venue:

The Boojum Tree – Phoenix

Flowers:

Endearing Floral Design @ Thee Wedding Warehouse

Dresses:

Jennyvi Dizon

Jewelry:

Two Sisters Jewelry Boutique

Hair/Makeup:

Tina Burnham

Before the holidays this year I got the opportunity to take photos of Tamara and her beautiful family.  We headed to a local park only to find out that we had apparently chosen the most popular family photography date of the year – we had to share the best spots with about eight other photographers!  Despite waiting in line on occasion, we managed to capture some of my favorite kind of shots – beautiful, spontaneous interaction and a whole lot of love!