janee' and jemar ::: wedding

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I had the pleasure of helping Janee' and Jemar record their wedding a couple of weeks ago. It was a wonderful night, filled with guests from all over the country. Janee' is from Kansas City and Jemar from Chicago, so this was a slightly different "Delta" wedding. Not many locals at all! Which was great. I hope all of you non-Deltans had a blast down here!

Here's a few images form the day.

~wj

eloise and david : : : wedding

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I had the incredible pleasure of photographer Eloise and David's wedding the Saturday right after Christmas. It was such a wonderful night. And so much fun!

The ceremony was actually in the home of Eloise's parents -- in McComb, Mississippi. Then we all loaded up and headed to New Orleans for a reception that night at the Loews Hotel downtown. And what a party it was!

Hopefully, these images an give you a little glimpse as to all the fun and emotion that was shared. Thank you Eloise and David, for letting me be a part of such an awesome day. Can't wait to see you guys soon.

~wj

melissa & todd . . . esession

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What a 24 hour period!

On Saturday at 3 PM I was photographing a wedding in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

By 3 PM Sunday I was in Pascagoula, Mississippi -- about 300 miles away -- meeting Melissa and Todd for their engagement session. And I'm so glad I did. We spent a perfect afternoon together -- sunny, 60-ish degrees -- and were able to go over lots of details for their upcoming wedding. But the best part was the light at the end of the day -- stunning!

Here's a few images form the session. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


~wj

janee' & jemar . . . . esession

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Right before Christmas I met an incredible family. Janee' and her parents came y to take a look around my studio and gallery, and talk to me about photographing Janee's wedding in January.

Well, the wedding was this past Saturday, so we really didn't have a lot of time for an engagment session with all of the holiday rush to get through. So, we did it a week before the wedding. Janee' and Jemar came to my studio after work, and we just took a little walk around the downtown area here in Cleveland.

I LOVE shooting at night, because the lighting can be so dramatic. I really enjoying playing and experimenting with these sessions, and I'm really excited about some of the images we were able to create. I hope yo like them as well!

Let me know your thoughts. I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.


~wj

new things coming . . .

I'm excited to get started with 2009.  Since the holiday break, I've been spending quite a bit of time working on making this business more efficient so that I can better serve all of my clients. I'm always looking for new things I can offer, and better ways to offer them. And I'm excited to start launching a few things that have been in the works for a while. So check back here often over the next several weeks as I'll be adding lots of new things to wiljax Photographic Design.

The first thing I'm excited to add is my "Portrait Availability Calendar". You can find it by clicking HERE, or by going the the top menu, selecting "Links", and then you'll see it there as well.

One of the things I really want to make more efficient is my time management. My schedule is getting busier and busier (thank you all!) and it's getting more and more important that I keep a really up to date and accurate calendar. This is something I've been doing in-house for a while actually, but until now I've not been able to find a practical way to share it with all of you. And I've felt for some time that if I could share it with my portrait clients, it might make things easier for you guys to plan your portrait sessions.

But, after gritting my teeth over the holidays, and deciding that I was determined to find a way to do this, I finally found a solution. It took about two days of solid research, experimenting, and tweaking, but I finally figured out a way to make this work. And the links above show the fruit of that labor!

Basically, what you see online, is up to date with the calendar I keep right here at my computer. When I change it here, you'll see that change online within five minutes. All other systems I researched required double entry -- and that just wouldn't work. Now, I just keep my calendar the way I normally would, and all of you are able to see it as well.

So what does that mean?

Well, I'm hoping this will make scheduling portraits a little easier for everyone. You'll be able to see the days I am available just by visiting my blog. See a day that works for you and your family? Click on the "contact me" link, fill in the appropriate information (including the date you'd like for your session!) and you're basically all set up. You'll be getting a few emails back to finalize everything, and that's it!

"But can't we just do that by calling you," you might ask?

Well, yes. You can. And this is not intended to take away that personal attention. However, it is meant to give you yet another option just in case you can't get to a phone for whatever reason, or the only time you have to plan your portrait is after hours. This calendar is ever changing. See a Saturday or Sunday that is unavailable six months from now? Well, odds are that's because a wedding has been booked that day OR I'm holding that day in case someone inquires about a wedding. As that date gets closer odds are less likely I'll be photographing a wedding, so I'll probably open it up for portraits. If you check the calendar daily, you'll see those changes take place. You'll also be able to see when I'm traveling to your part of the country. If you notice that I have a trip planned near you, send me an email or give me a call. I'd love to see if we can set up an appointment for you.

Finally, please note that this calendar does not affect my wedding schedule. All Saturdays have been blocked off from portraits only. At least Saturdays that are more than four months away. This is simply because most weddings are on Saturdays, and I need to keep those dates available for those bookings. Portraits may be available on the weekends, just not four months or so in advance. Again, if you check the calendar frequently, you'll see more Saturdays become available the closer they get to the current date.

As always, if you have any questions at all, just give me a call or shoot me an email. I'll be happy to answer anything I can for you.

I've got several other announcements I'll be making over the next few days and weeks, so be sure to check back here to see just what they are. And if you have any ideas or suggestions, by all means let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts.


~wj

Even dogs blink during photos!

> I'm still ok the road and my wife just sent me this brilliant photo
> of our "son" Sam.

She came up with the blinking line. Pretty funny considering she was
sending it to her photog husband.

Figured it was so cute I'd share it with all of you.

~wj

Via iPhone
>

on the road . . .

Wedding last night in Clarksdale, MS. Esession today in Pascagoula, MS.

Google Map it if you don't know where these towns are. And find out why I love my XM.

-- Post From My iPhone