An interview with myself...

Since today is a cold snowy winter day and I am still in my PJ's (yes I am, its cold and I didn't want to change into real clothes!).
I thought I would answer some of those burning questions you all have about me and JK Photography:

1. What is your name?
Jennifer Badalamenti (yep, I am a sicillian girl)

2. Where are you from?
Originally I am from Grand Rapids, but I moved to Seattle when I was 2, so thats where I grew up. Now I am back in Grand Rapids. So I will let you decide :)

3. Is photography your full time job?
Yep! I love it :)

4. How did you get into photography?
Well lets see...I have been taking pictures since I could hold a camera but I really started getting into it when I was in high school. This was back when we took pictures on BW film, developed the film and printed the pictures for the yearbook in the darkroom.
I travelled to Thailand about 6 years ago and that was when I realized that photography was what I was supposed to do for the rest of my life!

5. Did you go to school for photography?
Sure did!

6. What do you like the most about shooting weddings?
Oh that is a tough one, there are so many aspects to weddings that I love. I would say first off I love working with people and getting to know the bride and groom. I love seeing people happy and in love. I would also say that I love seeing the creativity that goes into planning a wedding. All the little details that the couple picks out to make their wedding unique and different.

7. How long have your been photographing weddings?
I am going into my 5th year of wedding photography.

8. Have you learned a lot over the last 4 years?
Heck ya I have! Every wedding I do is a learning experience. I develop my style and technique everytime I shoot a wedding.

9. Do you get nervous when you do a wedding?
Yep! I go through an equipment check 2 days before the wedding to make sure I have everything and everything is charged and formatted. 2 weeks before the wedding I visit the ceremony and reception locations to make sure i have the right lighting etc... where I get the most nervous is during the ceremony...its so quiet in there and its such a special time for the bride and groom I am always afraid I am going to sneeze or something LOL

10. What's in your camera bag?
Oh I have lots of goodies :)
Here is the list:
1 Shootsac
3 camera bodies (Canon 5D, Canon 30D and a canon rebel xti.)
5 lenses including 1 fisheye lens
3 backup batteries
1 stroboframe
2 Speedlight 430ex's
LOTS of AA batteries
3 4GB memory cards and a few 2 GB cards
A few reflectors
A few flash diffusers
An emergency kit for the bridal party
An extra pair of shoes for me
And a partidge in a pear tree!

11. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Working in some exotic location with my husband and kids!

12. Are you married?
Yep, I tied the knot in August of 2007!

13. Who photographed your wedding?
My very good friends Heidi and Fred

14. As a bride, what is one piece of advice you would give a new bride?
Remember EVERYTHING! Your wedding day will go by so fast and while you will have fabulous photographs to remember your day, just keep telling your self "remember this moment, remember this feeling".

15. Do you do destination weddings?
I do! This year I am travelling to Jamaica 2 times and Portugal in September. I feel so fortunate that I get to do the 2 things that I love the most, travel and take pictures!! What a great job I have :)

16. What color is your hair?
Darkest brown, box #581

17. What is your favorite drink?
A glass of buttery smooth chardonay on a hot summers day.

18. Do you have a favorite TV show?
Amazing race and Jon and Kate+8

19. Do you have any kids?
Nope, not yet!

20. Why did you decide to interview yourself?
Well, these are some of the most frequently asked questions I get, but maybe you all have some more..feel free to ask away, I am happy to answer any of your questions!

Oh the sweet smell of horses!

The other day I met up with my friend Debbie and we went to see her horse AJ and Teddy!
Now most of you don't know this but I used to ride and show horses back in the day! I miss it so much and I had a great time meeting AJ and even got to ride for a little bit, it was like I was a kid again :)







And speaking of horses...here are a few embarrassing pictures of me with my horse Kitten.
(Please remember these pictures were taken in the 80's and is not a reflection of the fashion choices I make today)

Does this mean Spring is here?????

Today I saw my first red breasted robins of the year, I can only hope this means spring is coming soon!!! God bye snow, hellllooooooooo SUN!!!

10 fingers, 10 toes...

and a little baby nose!
Yesterday I spent some time with this new handsome little man, Bennett!
He just came home from the hospital on Sunday and seems to be settling in very quickly.
Here are a few newborn pictures we did, isn't he just so cute?










After the pictures were done it was time for lunch!

Announcing....

Announcements!

Today I decided to get a little creative and design some new templates for baby announcements!
Here is a sample of a few I did today:








I will be making some more for birthdays, weddings and all occasion sometime this weekend!
If you would like to order these please contact me at info@jkphotographyonline.com

4x6 announcements will run $1.25 each and come with envelopes (packages of 24)
5x7 announcements will run $1.50 each and come with envelopes (packages of 24)

I can also custom design your announcement or invitation as needed!

I can see clearly now...

Yes friends, I finally broke down and got myself some new glasses!
Check em out:


And yes, for those of you who know me well, they are JLo frames :)

Don't forget to sign up!

With just a few weeks left and a few spots left open, if you have been considering signing up for the Beginner's Photography Workshop, now is the time to do it! Below is all of the information:

Mirror Mirror Studio is proud to present our first hands-on workshop of many to come, a Beginners Course to Photography.
Do you have a digital or film camera that you would like to learn to use better? Want to shoot like the pros or just take better pictures? Sign up for a fabulous day of fun and learning with Amy and Jen on Saturday, March 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and learn the ins and outs of your camera, manual controls and composition with a split session of learning and shooting with live models.

You will learn to:

-Use the manual controls on your camera
-Learn how to use available light
-Pose your subjects
-Compose your shots & much more!


There will be ample opportunity for any and all of your questions as well as an outlined curriculum with everything you need to know to start using your camera more efficiently. We hope you will leave the workshop feeling excited, exhilerated and ready to go out there and conquer the photography world!

Lunch will be provided for you and the class will be limited to 20 participants so as to have a lot of opportunity for one-on-one learning. The cost for the workshop is $150. We will also stick around after the workshop for anyone interested in a private session for an extra $100.

Seating is limited and will be based on a first-come, first-serve basis. Payment can be made through PayPal or by check.

We encourage all of those who are interested in learning their camera's better to sign up. This will be fun day of learning and shooting and we couldn't be more excited to be offering this!


To sign up, simply email either Jen at info@jkphotographyonline.com
or amy@acarrollphotography.com.

Oh what a beautiful morning!!

Well we are finally seeing the sunshine this morning, yah!!!
This is the view I woke up to this morning! As much as I love new snow, I am SOOOOO ready for spring to come :)

Its a mystery....

My darling husband told me the other day that he is taking me on a vacation in May...A mystery vacation...for those of you who know me and know how much I love to plan things, this is killing me!
So I have spent a majority of the weekend asking questions and trying to figure out where we are going! He won't budge.
Apparently I won't find out where we are going until we get to the airport..so we are flying somewhere!
Any guesses??

Kayleigh, Kyle and Tobi!

Kayleigh and Kyle are getting married in August up in Rockford and yesterday they came in for their engagement pictures!
They also brought in their little puppy Tobi!
I got some cute pictures of the 3 of them and I am really looking forward to photographing their wedding :)
Here is a sneak peak!

Say hello to Baby O!!!

Yesterday my friend Ellen and her husband Todd welcomed their second child into the world!
Meet Baby O!



Baby O loves the camera already, can you tell!
He doesn't have a name yet, but ironically his mom and dad decided early on that his middle name would be...you guessed it, Valentine!!
The jury is still out on his first name, but my vote is for Bradlee :)
Of course when I got to the hospital, I had to take a gazillion pictures..here are a few more of the little guy:

Father and son





Hands and Feet (I have a thing with feet if you haven't noticed ;) )