photographybyjaana.com: los angeles photography | family photography, vacation photography, engagement photography, portrait photography, event photography » shutter sisters

the man

jaana — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 15:41:00 +0000

My husband rarely takes a serious picture (because he wants to be remembered as “fun”), but once in awhile I’ll get a shot of that magical dimple. He’s the one that taught me the basics of photography and has encouraged me ever step of the way. I owe him everything…

He’s my support system, my favorite comedian and my best friend.

wild water

jaana — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:33:00 +0000

These were taken quite some time ago. Back in 2004 – before there was a “D” in front of the “SLR”. But they have always been some of my favorite pics, based solely on the fact that we had soooo much fun that day!

inspiration

jaana — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 22:27:00 +0000

Sometimes when I don’t have any new projects to work on or I’m feeling a little lack of inspiration, one of the challenges I give myself is to go back through some of my old pictures and try to find a shot that I may have never noticed before. You know how it is when you’ve been looking at photos non-stop, they all start to look the same and quite uninteresting at that. But surprisingly, it helps to go back later and look at them again with “fresh” eyes. Here’s one I found from ’06, looking out into my Mom’s backyard. Editing my photos back then, I thought this was completely unusable because the blinds are in the way and the lighting isn’t great. But today, I just love it.

accessorizing!

jaana — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 23:48:00 +0000

I’m so excited! My “baby” got a new outfit today! No, not the cat… The camera. I’ve been saving up for a new camera bag and after a lot of online research/reading reviews/indecisiveness, I finally settled on the Shootsac by Jessica Claire. It is not meant to replace the camera bag I have now, but rather it is meant to be carried with me while I shoot. This is the bag I currently use to hold my equipment:

It is not very practical when I’m out shooting because its sort of gigantic. So I’ll usually set it down somewhere and if I need to change lenses/batteries/memory cards, I have to interrupt the shoot and run back to dig through the monster. Besides, I know its not very safe anyway to set it down as I go gallivanting around, but its just so darn bulky and in the way. And pretty heavy too. So I’m hoping the Shootsac will be the answer to my problem. This is the new bag:

I got the one with the baroque-style black and white cover. But as you can see, there are a variety of different interchangeable covers you can buy! Cute, right? It fits securely over my shoulder and hugs my hips, so its completely out of the way. It has room for several lenses, an external flash, and anything else you might need at your fingertips while you shoot. I heard you can even use one of the back pockets to hold your drink. Haha. So far, I’ve only tested it by walking around the house wearing it. But so far, I like. And it looks so cute with my seat belt camera strap from PhotoJojo:

two of a kind

jaana — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:11:00 +0000

buddies

jaana — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 06:27:00 +0000

How cute are they? This little guy couldn’t ask for a better auntie. Both their eyes light up when they see each other or get to hang out together.

backyard – affordable southern utah photographer

jaana — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:29:00 +0000

My mom and step-dad keep an immaculate backyard. They take a lot of pride in making sure it’s maintained and I’m always impressed that they can keep up with it. It’s not a small task! While we were in Utah, some of the flowers were still in bloom, so wanted to take few pictures to show off their hard work.

trinkets

jaana — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:09:00 +0000

Some of my favorite trinkets include cheap jewelry. Don’t get me wrong, I love nice jewelry too, but just for every day, fun dress-up – the cheap stuff can be really great. Makes me happy because I feel like I’m putting some effort into my outfit without trying too hard.

self portraits

jaana — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:06:00 +0000

Over the years, my husband and I have become quite good at the goofy self-portrait. We usually prefer that bit of extended arm left in the shot to photos that strangers attempt to take of us. So we stick to this method on every trip and outing – and some of my favorite pictures of us are SPs.

black and white

jaana — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:38:00 +0000

Black and White Photography is something that I’ve always been interested in, but have never quite mastered. Shooting a 35mm in B&W was such a huge commitment – and it had to be just right. Personally, I think one of the most important things in B&W Photography is the contrast. There has to be plenty of it, to make up for the lack of color. Otherwise everything will just look terribly flat.

Of course with Photoshop, you can now easily change a color photo to black and white and add that contrast, but try shooting in B&W sometime. It really makes you think about the picture you’re about to take. It was a lot harder than I thought to get a great photo. (Of course the subject matter helps!)

My husband took this gorgeous shot