Boxing it all up!

Never thought I would see the day when I could actually box up all of my graduate school books. I made the decision before I finished graduate school that I would not go on to get my doctorate at this time, and instead pursue my photography. Please don't get me wrong, earning my M.Ed. was a HUGE accomplishment. I cried a lot during the three years of the College Student Affairs program. Good tears, happy tears, and tears that probably didn't really mean anything. I would not trade the experiences I had with the 6 other women in my cohort, and the amount of knowledge we gained about higher education and college students for anything in the world. So, this weekend, I am boxing up, all of the books I poured over for 3 years. The extensive chapters I read, the papers I wrote, the capstone I created, and the memories that will forever be ingrained in my brain. Someday, I do have plans to go on and get a Ph.D. in Higher Education and to run an institution, but for right now, I am taking time to pursue what God has placed before me.

The picture below are just a few of the books we spent a great amount of time in over the course of three years. It kind of makes me sad boxing them up right now, as I feel like some of those books deserve to be read again, as I can spend a lot more time without all of those deadlines on the syllabus.

Kendall & Zack: Portraits

Young love. It is precious, unique, fragile, sacred, and joyful in every way possible. Kendall and Zack are so in love, and it was truly evident last weekend as David and I had the privilege of photographing them at APU. Zack is a Psychology major and Kendall is a Biology major, and they are bright, outgoing, and fun to be around. They are both from Minnesota and met at their church in New Hope, MN, and then followed each other to APU. The weather was perfect for this session, as it was a warm 75 degrees the second weekend of January. They had just returned from Minnesota after their Christmas break, and mentioned that it was in the teens when they left. Yeah, that is a little too cold for me. They were all warmed up for our time together, and we all had a blast. Zack was going to be leaving for APU's High Sierra semester the next day, so I would say that spending the afternoon documenting their love, would be perfect.

*Kendall and Zack, David and I truly enjoyed spending the afternoon with you, documenting your love. May God bless your relationship in the most amazing ways. We hope to have the opportunity to photograph you two again. Love and Blessings, Tira J & David.

To view more images from the session, CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW.

Joyce, Christine, Katie: Portrait Session

Joyce and her girls, Christine and Katie were our last clients of 2008, and we had a complete blast doing portraits over in Claremont. It worked out perfectly, because they are also from Claremont. I just love it when we have a location that is close to home, and that a client feels comfortable with. I work with Joyce at APU, and her daughters wanted to get some new portraits done for Christmas, so of course, I obliged. In order to get "this party started", Christine brought along some music to get us all in the mood. It definitely worked, and loosened up the nerves of being photographed.

*Joyce, Christine and Katie, it was a true joy to photograph you all. You are all gorgeous and I had a blast.

Here are a few from our time together back in December.

My 3 Favorites & The Longest Day: Episode 1

Over the course of the last year, I have been networking with a lot of the top wedding and portrait photographers in our industry. Asking the craziest questions, mistaking them for their twin sisters, (sorry J* and B) and then laughing hysterically at the crazy antics of [b]ecker! I am honored to be a part of this industry where we document couples and families special moments in time with our time and talent. While I am still working full time at APU, I have invested a lot of time and money into improving my craft with the hopes of someday doing this full time. Because of my current job situation and the commitment I have at APU, I am not able to attend WPPI 2009 in Las Vegas. My goal is to attend WPPI in 2010 and see how this industry has been changed by people who want to make a difference.

Like I mentioned above, I have had the opportunity to meet some of the biggest names out there like Jasmine Star, David Jay and [b]ecker and I have admired their work for the past year. They have done so many amazing things for the photography community such as DJ and OpenSourcePhoto, [b]ecker and the [b]school, and Jasmine for her continual inspiration on her blog. Without these three photographers, I am not sure where I would be today. Don't worry, I am finally getting to my point. My three favorites are a part of The Longest Day project with Ron Dawson from F-Stop Beyond, who I think is also amazing. Ron has interviewed almost all of the top portrait and wedding photographers out there and asked some of the toughest questions, but really brings it down to earth for the rest of us to understand and respect who they are. You rock Ron!

So I guess my point is, watch the video below and see how some of the top wedding and portrait photographers (and my 3 favorites) in the industry are going to be making a difference for two separate charities, but will also be displaying their "other" talents in these upcoming episodes of The Longest Day! Cheers!




It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s finally here. The premiere episode of the first online reality TV show for and about professional photographers, “The Longest Day,” this year’s buzz-building videos series for WPPI 2009.

The premise is simple: get 24 of the hottest professional photographers in the country (and Canada), bring them all to southern California armed only with the knowledge that they would be split into two teams and given an assignment to complete in just 24 hours. Once they arrive, they find out their assignment is to write, shoot, and edit an original short film about photography, AND an original PSA about the respective charity for which they are playing: ThirstRelief and Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep.

Over a series of ten episodes, you’ll see the drama; the comedy; and the battle for the best video and PSA as voted on by YOU. That’s right, as we lead up to WPPI (February 14-19) we’ll air the episodes. Then, about a week before, we’ll show the final short films and PSAs by both teams. You will then have an opportunity to vote for the videos you like the best. Thanks to our sponsors, the winning team will win $3,000 for their charity. The other charity will earn $2,000. (In this episode you’ll hear me mention $1,000 and $500 as the respective prizes. The ante got upped since the taping of this show).

Baby Vince: Newborn Session

Meet Baby Vince. He was also born December 2nd, the same day as Kylie, and was born at 12:30 p.m. His parents Vince and Dianna couldn't be happier to have him here, and he was just a little bundle of love the entire afternoon. I also work with Dianna at APU, so it is exciting to see how lives are constantly changing around us, and to watch their new family grow.

*Vince and Dianna, thank you so much for inviting me into your home to photograph your precious little guy. And thank you for being patient while I get these pictures up for you. Merry Christmas!

Baby Kylie: Newborn Session

This past weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to do two newborn sessions, for two babies that were not only born the same day, but their parents both work with me at APU. And no, they are not twins.

Little Kylie Elizabeth was born December 2, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. and weighed 8 lbs. 8 oz to proud first time parents, Deric and Liz. Kylie was just too precious for words, and hardly fussed during the session. Nana joined us for the session, because she cannot get enough of either one of her granddaughters now. If you remember Jadyn from some previous sessions, she is Kylie's cousin, Sharon's granddaughter.

Deric and Liz are such wonderful parents and were so calm throughout the session. For being first time parents, and only for 12 days, they were doing pretty well. I can't wait to watch another one of my little ones grow up.

*Deric and Liz, thank you for inviting me into your beautiful home to photograph your precious gift from our Lord. She is gorgeous! And Nana, thank you again for another amazing opportunity.

To view more images from the session, CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW!

Pepe Le Pew - you will be missed

Last Monday, we came into the office at APU and were greeted with the wonderful smell from our dear friend, Pepe Le Pew. Yes, we have a friendly skunk that has been living underneath our building and decided to spray his wonderful malodorous scent. So, all week our entire building would make fun of our friend Pepe Le Pew and pray that we would not see him while working (note that they are nocturnal animals).

The friendly pest control dude brought a trap to catch Pepe last week and we were literally all FREAKED OUT! We are the last group of people on the face of this earth that wanted to bathe in tomato juice.

Today (Monday) I came into work and one of my co-workers asked if I had seen our friend Pepe. I said, nope. Well, he was caught and waiting patiently for the pest control dude to come get him. Forgive me for not taking a picture of our friend Pepe in his little trap, but I did not want to get sprayed.

This afternoon when Pepe was being taken away, he apparently got upset and let out his wonderful scent which smells like rotten eggs, garlic and burnt rubber. All of the offices close to where Pepe made his last journey, were open for some fresh air.

Dear Pepe, "Thank you for entertaining my co-workers this past week with your wonderful scent. Even though you really do STINK, you were pretty cute. Hopefully none of your family members are still living below our building."

Enjoy this cute little video featuring 'Pepe Le Pew'



!

Precious Kayla: Newborn Session

Over the Thanksgiving break, I had the awesome opportunity to photograph precious Kayla, daughter of Shino and Eric. She was born October 26th, and is a precious gift from the Lord. Shino and Eric invited me into their home to basically live with them for a few hours to photograph Kayla in her own element. Of course, Mia, the first child (their Cocker Spaniel) had to be the star of the show at times and definitely let us know when she wanted her picture taken. Kayla is the sweetest newborn, and hardly fussed the entire time I was there. Even though, she did give her parents a few surprises during the session, we all had a great time.

*Shino and Eric, thank you so much for inviting me into your beautiful home to photograph your precious little girl. You are both so blessed to have Kayla in your lives.

To enjoy more photos from the session, CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW!

Lauren: Senior Portraits

She is all grown up! I can't believe that Lauren will be graduating from high school next year. I first met Lauren almost 9 years ago when she was this cute little girl. Now she has grown into this beautiful young woman who is bound and determined to change the world. After Lauren graduates from Glendora High School, she will spend her first semester of college in Australia, studying abroad. We always thought that Lauren would come to APU for college because that is where her Mom works (with me), but she wants to do something completely different and unique, because that is who she is. We spent last Sunday afternoon roaming around Glendora High School capturing some great images of Lauren and her favorite spots. Gina, Lauren's mom and good friend was tearing up as I was capturing Lauren's images. And while she wasn't tearing up, she was laughing hysterically at Lauren and her funny smiles.

*Thank you Lauren and Gina for a fun afternoon. Lauren, I am so proud of you and can't wait to see what God has in store for you over the next year.

To view more images from our session, CLICK HERE FOR A SLIDESHOW!

*If you are a high school or college senior and are interested in doing senior portraits, please send an email to info@tirajphotography.com