June newsletter 2014

INSPIRED JUNE 2014

by napcp

Featuring Jennifer Dell of Jennifer Dell Photography

The

LATEST INSIDE

A Look at the 2013 NAPCP Photographer of The Year, Hilary Camilleri

Industry News & Announcements, Workshops, Updates and much more!

N AT I O N A L A S S O C I AT I O N O F P R O F E S S I O N A L C H I L D P H O T O G R A P H E R S

Hello friends!

April showers brought us May flowers, but what did May flowers bring? Some might say June bugs, others might say pilgrims, but we believe they brought us a beautiful canvas with which to welcome sweet summertime. On the cusp of the summer solstice, amidst the craving for surf, sand and adventure, we’re all celebrating the glorified season in our own way -- diving into beloved pastimes, relishing vacations with loved ones and soaking in good, old-fashioned fun in the sun.

Capturing these celebrations one shutter click at a time is Jennifer Dell of Jennifer Dell Photography in Houston, Texas. An artist, mother and all-around innovative soul, Jennifer comes from a long line of creative types and has never envisioned it any differently. When she’s not behind the lens, you can find her listening to live music outdoors during her favorite season. You guessed it – summertime!

Thankful she decided to submit her images in the past two image competitions, our 2013 Photographer of the Year, Hilary Camilleri, has received an abundance of recognition for her prestigious award. With hundreds of comments and a reach of more than 17,000 users on Facebook, local magazine and newspaper features, and pick-up by more than 20 news agencies across the US and Canada, we couldn’t be more proud of Hilary!

Special kudos to all the talented winners of the 2014 International Image competition! We are always terribly impressed by the individualism and creativity exhibited, and this year was no exception.

For those wishing to participate in our next image competition, you’re in luck!

July 15 isn’t too far off – stay tuned for more information on submission and competition details. A little further over the horizon is the NAPCP 2015 Retreat. Dates will be announced soon, but there’s no time like the present to get you in the frame of mind.

So stay tuned – and get your planner ready!

We believe there’s just something about this time of year that gets deep in your soul. From all of us at NAPCP, we wish you endless blue skies and sunny days ahead.

Sincerely

The NAPCP Team

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TA BLE O F CON TE N TS Pg. 3 ............................Photographer of The Year Pg. 4 ................................News & Announcements

Pg. 5..............Featured Photographer: Jennifer Dell

Pg. 25 ........................................Behind The Scenes Pg. 27 ............................................Video Resources Pg. 28................................. Apply For Membership

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CONGRATULATIONS

The National Association of Professional Child Photographers is thrilled to announce its 2013 Child Photographer of the Year, Hilary Camilleri of One For The Wall Photography! A winning image from Hilary was featured on an electronic billboard in New York City ’s famed Times Square.

Read the full Press Release here!

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N E W S & ANN OU N CE ME N TS Facebook Community We hope that everyone will continue to partake in our NAPCP Facebook Community page! Join now and get involved with the latest discussions, trending topics, news and updates, and much more! Click here to request to join today!

Vendor Download Page Several of our amazing vendors have contributed FREE downloads exclusively for NAPCP members. These downloads include template designs, educational videos, and much more! We will be adding new downloads every month so make sure to check it out periodically! To view all of our fabulour downloads simply click on the "Resources" tab and select "Vendor Downloads."

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FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER JENNIFER DELL

Images by Jennifer Dell of Jennifer Dell Photography

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A

n advocate of all things artistic, Jennifer Dell has the

creative gene that keeps on giving. A resident of Houston, Texas and founder of Jennifer Dell Photography, following her passion was an easy and rewarding decision. Jennifer’s natural talent and ease in capturing the beauty of life’s most intimate moments is undeniable. Read on to discover how Jennifer’s love for the art of photography evolved and enjoy a glimpse of her highly sought-after work.

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AT A GLANCE WITH JENNIFER DELL

1. Started photographing when? I was in high school, we used film and a dark room to develop our photos.

2. Officially opened business? Late 2007.

3. Favorite camera? All of them.

4. Lens of choice? 135mm 2.0DC 5. Favorite lab? Millers, I just adore their products and customer service.

6. Favorite framer? I mostly buy unique frames (antiques, etc) or use a local framer.

7. Favorite age to photograph? All of them? Really, anyone over 6 months!

8. Favorite musician? Ohhh... that's hard, I love all kinds of music - right now, probably Christina Perri or Lana Del Rey.

9. Favorite movie? Love Actually 10. Recent favorite read? Where'd You Go, Bernadette: A Novel 11. Favorite client product? Giant canvases 12. 3 things you can't live without? My family, the beach/ocean, art of all kinds both performing and visual.

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Tell us your story. How you started and how your photography, brand, and business transformed over the last few years?

I first learned the basic skills of photography while in high school on film and in a darkroom. I was inspired by photography, but as I graduated I was led to believe that there wasn't much of a career path in art much less photography.

So, I went on to college and tried to study other subjects... all of which had zero interest to me. After taking several breaks I went back to school, this time an art school at the age of 24 to major in graphic design. While I was studying design, we were also taught to use the newer more advanced dSLRs. We used original photography in all of our projects and I quickly fell back in love with it and decided to study photography along with my design program. After graduating from college I had a choice, continue my path as an art director for

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a local magazine or pursue photography as a career. I chose photography and haven't looked back since.

You are so good at back-lighting! Do you have any tips you can share for getting a great image? Thank you! I love love love backlighting, it can be so versatile and helps create some really rich and dynamic images. My biggest tip for backlighting is to move around. If you are trying to backlight a subject and they are blown out or you aren't achieving the look you want, try a new angle. Get above, below, take a step to the right, etc. Just move around and don't be afraid to ask your clients/subject to move too. Experimenting this way you will start to know right off the top what to do and look for to achieve the backlit images that suit your style.

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What is one business lesson you wish you learned a long time ago?

That's a tough one, I've learned a lot of lessons over the years, most of them seem to be centered around valuing my time. I started out with boutique pricing, so I always valued my time in that sense, but I often found myself (and sometimes still do) working far too many hours and not walking away from work when I should. There have been many years where I've literally worked 6o hour weeks to try to get my business ahead, whether it was on developing new marketing, shooting, experimenting in photoshop, rebuilding my website for the 5,000 time or just hanging out on forums begin chatty. I have recently shifted the focus of my business and I'm hoping that it opens up some of my time so that I don't feel the burn out and bitterness that I have been struggling with.

How do you keep yourself inspired and creative? Art, music, traveling and being on or near the water. I like to unplug, go to the museum and walk around looking at paintings and sculptures. I have found that studying the light and shadows that have been painted for centuries to be far more educational than

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stalking other photographers. We recently took a trip to Italy and I cannot even begin to describe how amazed I was by the works of the great artists and even just in the way the light played and danced within some of the cathedrals. Attending Mass at one of the oldest churches in Rome was incredibly inspirational to me, I think it helps to step away from pop culture, pinterest and the internet in order to connect to a more spiritual place and to start fresh again. I get that same feeling when I am out on the Ocean or at the beach at dawn.

Tell us about your typical work day and work week. From sunrise to sunset...

My typical work day goes like this... Wake up, check emails, wake up the littles, get them ready for school, once they are at school I typically work 9-3ish. From there I spend the time that they are out of school with them until their bedtime at eight. After they go back to bed, I work again from 8-12 or later depending on the season. I do that every day of the week. I try to schedule my shoots for days when I don't have my littles with me, I was divorced so planning my schedule around the times that I have them with me is incredibly important. I do not work at all on Sundays and I typically only work after the littles go to bed on Saturdays. I am remarried and my husband is a chef/restauranteur so our schedules work very well for this as he is at work late and often comes home mid day for our family time.

You mentioned you would like to live on an island one day, any special reason why? I would move to an island tomorrow if that were an option. I love the slower pace of life, while I am 100% a city a girl, being on Island time far away from everything is so much more relaxing. That and to be honest, I have this crazy idea that I would love to have a private beach and I can see all my littles running around and growing up on the water - very Swiss Family Robinson.

It's just so peaceful and happy. I have always been drawn to the ocean and life that it contains, so waking up with a view of the sea would be so refreshing and would just make my should happy.

What are you most grateful for?

My family! Life has its challenges, we all ebb and flow... but without the constant love and support of my family I don't think I would even be half as successful as I have been. I have been incredibly blessed to have a family that has

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stood by me and my decisions and helped promote me, they are truly my biggest supporters. My husband is an amazing father and helps so much with daily life that it allows me to focus on what I need to, especially when work gets a little crazy. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.

Where do you see your life 5 years from now? In five years, I see myself with more littles (currently expecting my third), still living in Houston but with a beach house that we spend our summers at. Work wise, I would imagine I would be pretty close to what I'm doing now, mentoring other photographers and shooting clients. I do hope that in five years I have developed more fine art photography skills, this is something I am just now starting to focus more energy on, so I'd love to see where that takes me. I would also like to have photographed and created a few books, my husband and I actually have a project like this we are hoping to complete next summer.

To see more of Jennifer's work, please visit her site here!

Thank you so much Jennifer!

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CAMERA BAG ESSENTIALS WITH JENNIFER DELL

iPhone Lenses 135mm 2.0DC 85mm F/1.4 50mm F/1.4 24mm F/1.4 Lensbaby Composer Pro

Extras MEMORY CARDS

The Bag SHU T TE R B AG

BOT TLE OF WATER (because it's always so hot here in Houston) CLIFF BAR (for right after a shoot because I'm always starving after a shoot)

Body NIKON D700 NIKON D4

BEHIND

We asked Jennifer to give us a peak into her busy day to day life with a few of her favorite

SCENES

WITH JENNIFER DELL

Instagram captures. Enjoy a behind the scenes look at some of her favorite moments!

WORK SH O PS Start Submitting Now! NAPCP’s July 2012 International Image Competition opened on Monday! The purpose of NAPCP’s Image Competitions is to recognize the accomplishments and creative excellence of our members, rewarding their talent with medallions, priority listing on our directory, vendor endorsements, member points, titles and professional recognition. Members each receive a total of 2 Competition Credits per Competition with their Membership. Details are online!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words … and yours June be featured in our next press release. For the past two International Image Competitions, the winners announcement highlighted the names of the competition winners and received great exposure – collecting thousands of views, postings to other websites, and search index hits. Wouldn’t you like to see your name and photo sent over the wire too?

Members, you can start submitting your best images here!

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