a busy weekend...

...makes for lots of pictures & so much to share! 

this weekend was full of pictures!! & i have to say, i loved it! typically our weekends are pretty mellow around here, but i do have to say it is nice to mix it up & have a hectic one.

on friday i did the first half of a valentine's day inspired photo shoot for two friends of mine up in a cabin near park city. saturday i assisted alyssia from allyssiabphotography at a wedding in pleasant grove. i had a blast & it turned out her husband was an old friend of mark's from back in washington! small world. then on sunday {before the super bowl began} i went out with maryclaire & nate to finish their darling vday shoot. i love working with friends :) sunday afternoon mark & i hosted a small super bowl party with a few friends, lots of yummy food & tons of fun!

stay tuned for more upcoming pics from this weekend!!

life lately {iphone edition}

 life lately has been full of freezing temps, too much food & some new york lovin!!!

cheers to the last day of january! february, i've been waiting for you :)

leota new york

on sunday we woke up early & headed to williamsburg in brooklyn for the leota fashion shoot. this was the main reason for my visit to NYC & it did not disappoint! i wasn't sure what to expect coming into the whole process but i ended up taking away a lot!

60 looks. 1 model. 1 photographer. & a whole team from leota. 

the entire day went very smoothly with only a couple bumps in the road. & 11 hours later...we all emerged from the little studio apartment finished & SO happy with the results! congrats to sarah & her team!!! you gals make some truly beautiful clothes for women. & i had such a fun time watching the photography team ned & aya create breath taking images!!

^^^the wonderful team that made it all possible^^^

i loved meeting everyone & sitting down and having some good conversations. it was so surreal to be at a photo shoot in new york city! 

a look inside my camera bag

i love hearing what other photographers {& people in general} have inside of their camera bags! whenever i get the chance to speak with a photographer i always ask them what camera body they use, as well as some of their favorites lenses. getting to peek at what equipment they use on a daily basis & what they recommend, as well as what they don't, is really a special opportunity. it can be a great learning experience & is truly valuable information in my eyes! so, for anyone that may be interested, here is a little peek inside my camera bag! :)

1. nikon d600 >> a full frame DSLR camera body. i love this camera so far! it is the newest addition to my collection & one of my favorites ;) this is my first big boy camera & i am thoroughly enjoying all of the perks of having such a sophisticated machine.

2. nikkor 50mm 1.8G >> this is my favorite lens. it is a prime lens which means that it doesn't zoom. you must use your feet to get closer or move further away from your subject. i love it because it creates really sharp images & has a really low aperture! if you are looking to step up your photography but not spend a ton on a lens {because we all know how much those amazing lenses can cost!!} then this is a great option! i bought this lens right after i got my d5100 & i have been in love with it ever since!

3. nikkor 18-55mm >> this lens came with my nikon d5100 camera as the kit lens. while this lens is in my camera bag, i don't typically use it.  i may pop this lens on if i need a really wide shot {18mm is very wide} or am in need of a zoom lens while i'm out exploring a new city. but when i get the dough, i plan on investing in a true wide angle lens {like a 24mm}. but until then i will keep this little guy around just in case!

4. nikkor 24-85mm >> this is the kit lens that came with my new nikon d600. i use my 50mm most of the time, but it is kind of nice to have the option of a zoom if for whatever reason i need it. for example, when i take pictures of food from a birds eye view i typically use this lens in order to get everything in the frame when i'm in such a confined space. {i dream of a 24-70mm, though :)}

5. nikon d5100 >> this little guy has been so good to me for the past 10 months. i learned everything on this DX camera & i love it so much! i would recommend this camera to any beginner. it has various settings for those who do not know manual mode. i found this comforting because there were times when i was first learning manual that i didn't want to think about my settings & so i could set it to a preset option & know i would still get a good picture. i am keeping this little guy around as a back up in case anything ever breaks or goes wrong with my other camera body.

so those are the items in my camera bag! 

of course i have a wish list of things i would LOVE to eventually purchase, but for what i'm doing right now, this little group is working just fine!

i would also like to mention that i typically use lightroom for all of my editing. i love photoshop, but lightroom is SO much faster when you have a bunch of photos to edit. i have both & work with both, but if you are debating between the two & you simply want to edit photos...definitely go with lightroom.
i love talking photography, so if you have any questions...leave a comment!

bright lights, big city

i am beyond excited right now! i just booked my ticket to go to NYC in two weeks! AHH! for those that don't know, i am obsessed with new york. it is my dream to live there, but i'll settle for a weekend visit in the mean time :)

the reason for this trip is to attend a fashion shoot. my uncle's niece has a fashion line based in new york & we are going to hang out behind the scenes of the shoot all day sunday. i typically work with natural light when i take pictures, so going to a studio shoot will be really new for me. i am excited to learn as much as i can & watch some legit fashion photographers work!

i'm bummed mark won't be coming with me, but we may take another trip out there this summer because he really wants to visit the big apple & see what it is all about. i can't say i'm mad about that ;) cheers!!

shoot with the barefoot blonde

yesterday afternoon i went out to do a quick photo shoot with my friend amber clark, also known as the barefoot blonde! she has an amazing blog that you all should check out if you don't already follow it. 

here is a short preview of the shoot. to see the full shoot visit my photography website. i had so much fun catching up with amber & taking pictures of her. she is just gorgeous, right?!

enjoy!

thanks, amber!

stay hungry, stay foolish

"Overall, just do YOU. At some point, someone will appreciate it, and that someone will turn into someones, and your following and support will go from there, further encouraging you to get better and do more of what you love."

- Chantel Marie Photography  

any creative field is a challenge. photography has been such a fun journey for me thus far & i am beyond excited to see where it will take me. but....there is also a lot of down time without clients lined up that can get me feeling a bit down on myself. am i cut out for this? do people even like my work? is anyone viewing my site? blah blah. that is why i SO loved the quote above by a wonderful photographer in the salt lake area. 

this quote just sums up completely what i am going through & how i am feeling about my current profession. i am in the beginning stages of my business & just like it says, 'at some point, someone will appreciate it...' or at least i am hoping! i know things take time & hard work is required. i just have such big dreams that sometimes i wish it was going faster...but i know things work out the way they are supposed to & never with the timing that you are hoping for or expecting. 

so, with a bit of hard work, passion, drive & some fun, i think i may just make it!

just got to keep pushing through! and being me.

recently i have done a few posts that include all of these IN-YOUR-FACE quotes, but i find them so inspiring & helpful. so i like to add them to give my readers some inspiration of their own & to help you all understand some of my thoughts that i may not necessarily share in my own words. 

i hope you enjoy them & take something of your own away from the simple phrases.

practice makes perfect

...or atleast works out the kinks, right??

doing short, creative photo shoots with friends is my absolute favorite. it is the perfect time for me to practice in a comfortable environment & work on various skills. i am able to apply new techniques that i've been wanting to try or work on things that i would like to improve. plus, it's the perfect excuse to spend more time with your friends & have that much needed girl time!

to see more from this little holiday fashion shoot check out jenna bechtholt photography. there are two super cute outfits & more to come!

holiday mini sessions

anyone looking for some holiday photos???
this is a limited time offer to get some festive pictures for a great price! i am featuring this deal in utah, los angeles & seattle. check below for dates.
www.jennabechtholt.com

sign up today!

weekend recap

my weekend started a bit early this week. mark spent all day friday working from home due to a scratchy throat & i discovered that it is rather hard for me to get things done when he is around during the day. usually i spend my fridays working on my website, blog, doing errands, cleaning up the house & whatever else needs to be done, but when i woke up to mark sitting on the couch i knew it wouldn't be a typical friday. i don't have that problem on saturdays & sundays for some reason, but on a weekday i seem to just want to chat or go do fun things with him! can you blame me??

that evening was girls night & boys night IN. i say in because we both had plans to go over to some friend's houses rather than going out for a change. in honor of my friend lauren's return to utah, some of my old roommates & i decided it was time for a get-together. we decided it would be a perfect opportunity to keep up our tradition of making breakfast for dinner! we had a blast cooking, chatting & hanging out with one another! good girl friends are hard to come by & i am thankful for these girls! meanwhile, the boys gathered together to play a new video game that had just come out. their night consisted of too much pizza, candy, chips, soda, video games & boys just being boys. all in all, it was a successful night!

i woke up early saturday morning & headed up to draper to take some family photos for the family that i nanny for. the weather was supposed to be on our side, but we ended up getting clouds & a bit of rain. we made the best of what we had & did some indoor photos as well as a few down at a local park before the rain really started to fall. this was the first time i had ever photographed a family on my own & i learned a ton from the experience. i was a little nervous, but i am hoping that they love the pictures. the rest of saturday was a bit of a blur. after an early start to the day, traveling up north & working hard i was just a little tired. we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home, ordering our favorite thai take-out for dinner & making healthy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. i don't know what it is about the term "healthy", but for some reason the brain thinks healthy=you can eat more than usual, which results in no longer being healthy! ha.

{a small preview of the shoot i did :: jenna bechtholt photography}

sunday was spent cleaning, cooking & getting ready for the upcoming week! i made a delicious pork roast with sweet potatos & a cabbage, apple & onion slaw. both mark & i really liked it! {i love finding meals that i can repeat again!} i can't believe thanksgiving is in 4 days! i am so eager to go to seattle & spend some time with mark's family. it will be fun to get out of town for a few days & eat some GREAT food. i will miss seeing my family for this holiday, but christmas will be here in no time!!

ANNOUNCEMENT: jenna's new website

as you all know, i have been working really hard on my photography for the past few months & i am excited to finally launch my business! i have started a facebook page {jenna bechtholt photography} & a website {jennabechtholt.com} dedicated to my photography. i hope you all will take a moment to check them out & "like" them.

i will occasionally post some pictures of my work on this blog but check those other sites to see everything i am up to! i am super excited to get moving with this new adventure & to use this personal blog to post more about my daily life again. {thank you for bearing with me through the many photo shoot posts :)}