I took a break in 2011 but ROCK THE TUTU is back for the 3rd time this Spring 2012! First launched in 2009, Rock The Tutu is a FREE photo contest offered by me as a fun way for your little princesses to have some fun dressing up and win some awesome prizes! I’ve learned a lot the first two times I offered the contest and this year I’m so excited to have worked out the kinks. For your little gals age newborn to 4 years, divided up into 3 age categories so while there is one grand prize winner, there are also runner up age category winners to spread the joy.

GRAND PRIZE: Awarded to the entry with the most overall votes and consists of one family portrait session of the child and his/her immediate family only. Session is to be shot on location in Johnson County and the family will receive approx. 30 digital retouched images to keep in my premium digital package. Overall a $700 value. Session must be completed no later than August 26th 2012.

RUNNER UP PRIZES: Three age category prizes are awarded to the entry with the most votes in their respective age categories, being Under 1, Age 1-2, Age 3-4. Winners of these are awarded a child only mini session of the winning child. Siblings are permitted to be in these images with the child at the discretion of Jessica Strom. These must be completed no later than August 26th 2012

How to Enter:

All images used for the contest are photographed by Jessica Strom only and only take about 10 minutes to accomplish. Entry photographs are taken in South Overland Park only, physical address will given to parents upon scheduling. Sessions need to be scheduled by contacting Jessica Strom at jessicastromphotography@YAHOO.com with ROCK THE TUTU in the subject line and can only be done during the evenings between 5:30 and 7:30pm or on the weekends beginning May 26th and no later than June 17th.

Official Contest Rules:

Contest Opens on June 22nd at 12:01am and runs until June 23rd at 11:59pm

Free to enter

Open to little girls age newborn to 4 years only

Model release must be signed per family with permission to use their child’s image in the contest or other promotions relating to Jessica Strom Photography in the future.

Contest entry does not include any form of prints or digital images. A digital voting card will be provided with each entry’s image that may be used to promote the contest and to encourage voters to vote for them. These will be posted on Jessica Strom Photography’s facebook page but no one entry will be endorsed by Jessica Strom Photography.

Grand Prize is awarded to the entry with the most overall votes and consists of one family portrait session of the child and his/her immediate family only. Session is to be shot on location in Johnson County and the family will receive approx. 30 digital retouched images to keep. Overall a $700 value. Session must be completed no later than August 26th 2012.

Three age category prizes are awarded to the entry with the most votes in their respective age categories, being Under 1, Age 1-2, Age 3-4. Winners of these are awarded a child only mini session of the winning child. Siblings are permitted to be in these images with the child at the discretion of Jessica Strom. These must be completed no later than August 26th 2012

Contest is won by public popular vote by voting on www.jessicastrom.net, not a panel of judges or by Jessica Strom. Parents must be proactive to promote their child’s entry in the contest to obtain votes.

Voting is limited to 1 vote per entry per IP address per day.

Any attempt to excessively overload an entry with false votes or otherwise garnish unfair results will result in the entry being disqualified, even if it was not done by the parents or family members.

No outside images not taken by Jessica Strom may be entered in the contest

All children must wear the tutus provided by Jessica Strom

Parents are encouraged to accent their child’s outfit with any accessories such as jewelry, hair pieces, or shoes. Shirts / tops must be provided for every child by their parents. Children still able to wear onesies are permitted to while older children must wear some form of shorts/leggings. Modesty is requested.

Digital Images from the entry sessions are available for purchase after the completion of the contest

SO, what’cha waiting for? Tell your sisters, tell your friends, there is no limit on entries! This is a majorly fun contest you don’t want to miss out on and if you’ve been wanting to meet me and see how I work with the little ones before booking a session, this is a perfect chance!

SEE YOU SOON!

xoxo

Jess

And here’s one for the road… Seriously, adore this kid! Thanks for putting up with me Millie!

xoxo,

Jessica

Time for something a wee bit different. Now, I don’t normally do engagement sessions because I don’t normally do weddings, that is, unless you have an in with me, I’m not afraid to admit it. And when I do do them, my couples get my attention like royalty. I wasn’t available on the date that Jordan and Corey are getting married (in a week and a half!) BUT I still really wanted to do their engagement session with them as Jordan is also a student at Cleveland Chiropractic College with my hubby. So, we got to stick together! I met Corey within a couple days of Jordan popping the question and it was fun to gush over the wedding details, the proposal, all the fun stuff. I’m a people watcher and it was instant for me to see just how madly in love these two are (not to mention uber cute together!) We squeezed in some time for their session and despite the crazy wind and very fast setting sun, we made it work and had a blast. I wish I could be there to see these two tie the knot, but you know I’ll be stalking you for a baby announcement! Congrats you two and wishing you all the best in the many many years to come!

xoxo,

Jess

For this promotion we are doing a ONCE-IN-A-BLUE MOON rock bottom pricing offer. $100 plus 8.65% sales tax gets you photographer’s time & talent in a quick 15 minute session (perfect to get in & get out to your activities!), 5 retouched digital images for you to keep (photographer’s choice for best images), and a complimentary Facebook timeline cover. As a little extra incentive to book early, if you book (which is only final when payment received) by April 22nd, you get a $25 print credit! Limited spots available!

Don’t delay! There are limited bookings and time slots offered on first come first serve. Email me at jessicastromphotography@yahoo.com with any questions and to sign up! See you there!

Blessings,

Jessica

This is a photo my mom took of my dad taking that above photo of me.

This next one is one of two film images I have of the night I introduced Daniel to his future father-in-law and my dad’s second wife about 5 days after we got engaged. I only have them because Dad insisted we take a few group shots before we left for the night. I was agitated and wanted to leave, but I took the time to take some pictures. I gave my camera to Dad to take a couple for me too, because “it’ll take you forever Dad to actually send these to me.”

 I never got the pictures off my dad’s camera. And that was the last time I saw my father alive.

7 years ago, my dad very suddenly and tragically passed away. Completely out of the blue. He was young (only 52), healthy, and was the victim of a silent killer, Deep Vein Thrombosis, in the form of a pulmonary embolism that took his life in less than 10 minutes. I was 21.

April 11^th 2005 was another busy Monday in Calgary. I was stressed as my fiancé was in Louisiana preparing to deploy to Iraq. I worked a pretty boring job downtown and that always makes Mondays even worse. My dad and I had been arguing for about a week and a half over the location of where Daniel and I would get married. We’d never exceled at our communication skills and so it was no different than any other time to just let it boil and stew until the whole thing blew over. The last time I had spoken to him before that day didn’t end well. I said things a daughter should never say to her father. I was just angry and by not dealing with the anger things only got worse, my heart hardened and I ignored the problem.

I came home from work that day looking forward to speaking with Daniel on the phone at some point. My answering machine was flashing. The message was from my dad left at 10am that morning. He wanted to talk and work through this. He was sorry and he loved me. Please call me he said. I rolled my eyes, my heart still hardened and annoyed he didn’t call my cell phone, assuming he was avoiding me knowing I wouldn’t be at home. I plop down on the couch to zone out. My mom, who was my roommate in our downtown apartment, answered the call when the phone rang and her end of the conversation caught my attention. She had this confused look on her face. It was my brother-in-law, trying to explain something to her. She hung up the phone and I’m staring at her, asking what in the world the problem was.

Your dad is dead.

I shake my head and get up, telling her they must have gotten a mix up and he probably just had another car accident caused by a seizure from his Epilepsy. It’s ok Mom, I will sort it out. I go into my room and look up the numbers to the police department and the hospitals. I remember getting super irked at whoever I talked to when they told me no accidents had been reported. I remember sitting on the floor of my room wondering who else I could call to find out what ‘really happened.’ My mom comes in and sits on my bed. I don’t remember if we spoke, I don’t remember if we looked at each other. All I remember is that right then in that moment IT hit.

Your dad is dead. And we don’t know what happened, but he’s gone.

There is absolutely no way I could describe to you what kind of absolutely gut-wrenching anguished cry that occurs in that moment. The world just skidded to a halt on a dime. I couldn’t get a hold of Daniel in Louisiana, I didn’t even know where he was but he wasn’t home. I then called my closest friends Aaron and Nicole. I just spat out the words. Then I couldn’t talk anymore. And the world went dark. That is, until I had to take the responsibility to tell one of my sisters what had happened. While everyone else went to the hospital to view my father’s body and say goodbye before they took him away, Nicole and I drove around looking for my sister. And when I finally found her, telling her that Dad was gone and we had to go to the hospital now was the worst (and I would repeat this moment of responsibility when 5 years and 1 week later it was me telling my mom at the airport that HER dad had passed away). We rushed to the hospital where my mom, our other 2 sisters (one of whom was 10 days away from having a baby), and my father’s wife was only to find out they had taken the body away and the window of good-bye was gone. There was nothing left to do but go home.

And when I got home, my answering machine light was on reminding me I had a message on there I had listened to earlier. I stood in the dark kitchen alone, tears streaming down my face, knowing what was on that answering machine and knowing I didn’t deserve it. It took every bit of strength in me to press play.

“Jessie, it’s Dad. This has gone on too long and we need to talk. This whole thing is just silly and I’m sorry. I love you, please call me when you get home.”

4 hours after that message, my dad was gone.

My father and I never had a close relationship; we were all too similar in our stubbornness. But he was home from work that day, that fateful day, and I firmly believe that had he not have taken the time to call me and leave that message, I would never have really accepted that he loved me and I would never have been able to forgive myself. And I believe he called my home phone, not my cell, because he wanted to be sure to have the ability to leave a voicemail so he could tell me exactly what he needed to say. He had no way of knowing it would be the last phone call he made before his wife called 911 for help. He had no idea that by taking the few precious moments to say he was sorry and he LOVED me, he would forever change the perspective of my life and impact the perspective of my heart.

If you have been holding on to something, anything, with anyone in your life who you absolutely care about, even if it’s a strained relationship, DO SOMETHING about it. Don’t stew in anger. Don’t let your heart be hardened. Take the time to make things right, even if the thought of it makes you so much angrier. Even if you know you may never receive a response. Don’t be too proud to throw up the white flag and surrender.

Because, as I can tell you first hand, only by surrendering are you truly set free. Don’t let anger harden your heart. You can be certain that there will come a time where there are no more tomorrows.

Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.

- Pablo Picasso

Can’t wait for Kenley’s newborn portrait session on Sunday, I’ve got some beautiful ideas cooking up and can’t wait to share. So without further adu, here are a few of the beautiful Kenley. Rachelle & Sean and all of the Hornbeck clan, CONGRATS!!!

If you would like more information on a BIRTH or FIRST 48 Birth Session, please CONTACT ME through the contact bar above! Thank you so much!

And this was the concept Kim & Aimee came up with. It was framed and given to their parents a couple days after we took these. Happy Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Leslie!

I’ve known for a long time this question was going to be brought up. Innocent or not, that kind of question makes you stop dead in your tracks and rains down on you like a hurricane. I knew it’s been coming for a while since I decided to focus on birth photography back in 2010. I knew that I could prepare as much as I could and brace for the storm, but when that storm hits, all bets are off. (I know, I lived through the eye of Hurricane Rita!)

Why does this question matter? I haven’t hid the fact that Daniel and I have been unsuccessful in getting pregnant in the last SIX YEARS since we started trying. Ok sorry, it’s not quite 6 years, it’ll be 6 years in May. Anyway, we’ve had friends and known people who got pregnant the first month they were off birth control, people who got pregnant and were upset about it or others who were scared to tell us, people who are currently on kids 3 and 4 during the entire time we’ve been trying. We are the Lone Rangers (oxymoron I know, just go with me on this) in our demographic. We’ve seen 5 doctors, done infertility treatments both medically and holistically, we’ve done it all only for no one to be able to tell us why our medically sound bodies can’t get their acts together and make a baby. People have said to me, “Oh I know what you’re going through, it took me 7 months to get pregnant and it was horrible.” I’m not going to downplay what anyone felt and went through on their journey to conception, but what I can say is that when it carries on for years, in our case 6 years, it changes everything. It no longer is just about getting pregnant, it changes your priorities, the way you see things, changes the way people see you, act around you, talk around (and often behind) you.

Prolonged unexplained-I-want-to-beat-you-with-a-stick Infertility changes your life.

I once thought that maybe I should just focus on weddings. Weddings are about couples, 98% of them who don’t have kids yet, and are just crazy in love. I’m crazy in love with my husband. For almost 9 years I’ve fallen more and more in love with him every day, even during a break up when we were babies (20 and 21, like I said, babies). That would be a good fit for me and I could do it well.

But here’s the thing about weddings for me. I love weddings, they are so much fun, but it’s not where my heart is. For 6 years (longer if you count those months I “forgot” a few days of my birth control pills) my heart has been on babies. It’s been on the connection between new mothers and fathers with this little tiny MIRACLE. Yes yes, everyone calls babies ‘miracles’. Do you know WHY? As I researched relentlessly on the subject of fertility, one fact stuck out to me. The average woman has a measly 12 hour window of opportunity each month for conception. That’s it. And the adversity up to the heavenly choir singing when the spark happens (no not the spark that led up to the spark I’m referring to), it’s because it IS a miracle. Modern science has only taught us to respect the Grand Design, trust me, because otherwise nothing makes sense.

So, why DO I photograph births and babies and expecting mommies when I can’t have my “own” kid? Because I LOVE this phase in life, because God has given me a gift and insight to capture those fleeting moments and details for couple experiencing this because I’ve envisioned it for so long. Because even though I want it more than anything, as much as I have a hard time swallowing this pill, this is my lot. I may not ever birth my own child and that is the cold hard truth. This is my road and there is no other one for little old me to walk on. So should I run away from something I love and understand (I probably know more about birth than most moms-to-be but NOT more than doulas or midwives, hey you should get one) only because others think it might be cruel for me to experience someone else having what I can’t have or use it as a crutch to cope? I’m pretty certain there have been others who have wondered.

We can’t live our lives in fear. We can’t live our lives avoiding situations that may or may not make us uncomfortable with our own personal emotions and issues. It makes us miss out on some of the most amazing life changing events we could experience, even if we’re experiencing it WITH someone and not for ourselves.

I’m by no means fearless. I face my fears every single day and always have the choice to choose one of two paths. The first choice; do I give in and crumble to my knees in self-pity? (because fear always morphs into self-pity, which in turn morphs into anger, which will kill your heart)

OR, do I choose to stand strong, stand firm, LIVE and LOVE?

Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway. ~ John Wayne

Today, when Fear asked me, “Why Do You Photograph Births When You Can’t Have Your Own Baby?”….

I choose to stand strong, stand firm, to LIVE, LOVE, and not let an amazing moment pass me by.

But while there is no wrong way to take a family photograph, there are different ways to achieve end results for what you desire and need. In the last decade and especially the last five years, the market has seen an astonishingly large influx of independent portrait photographers which has had both positive and negative effects. The positive being that there is an abundant amount of incredible talent out there to give you breath taking images and there are so many more choices for everyone. The negative however is that many, many, MANY individuals advertising their services are not legal businesses and this directly impacts you as the client. Those same individuals may call themselves professional photographers because they are charging you for their services. Many are honest hard working individuals, a lot of them very talented, but if you’re not legal, simply put they are not true professionals. The term “professional” when associated with photographer has become very diluted these days and I’ve never seen an industry that needs to constantly explain themselves as much as our fellow professional photographers and this makes me sad.

Now, just because you operate a business, no matter the size, doesn’t automatically make you a professional either, it makes you a business owner. So what defines a professional? A professional is an expert at their craft AND legally able to offer their work to you in exchange for monetary gain. Why is this so important to you, the consumer, when you want to make your hard earned dollars stretch the most? Your money is important to you because it always comes with the sacrifice of the one earning it being away from their family, losing precious time together. It comes with the stress of providing an enjoyable lifestyle for your family, it comes with years of learning and achievements in order to make more of it to give your family even more enjoyment and for many, many of us, just to pay the bills. Speaking of hard earned money and sacrifices just to pay bills, the idea of hiring a professional photographer can seem an un-necessary luxury, something unaffordable, that photographers nowadays just make up crazy numbers and rake in the money, taking advantage of your hard earned money that comes with sacrifice. But trust me, this couldn’t be any further from the truth!

Like you, my hard earned money comes with sacrifice. I have worked two jobs to put my husband through undergrad and grad school the last five years with another 1.5 years to go. I work a day job to guarantee a steady income and health benefits, but it is just enough to pay bills, honestly some months, some months we are pinching pennies if we’ve had some unexpected expenses. We’ve been married 6 years and have never taken an independent vacation together. We drive old used cars and wear our clothes until they need to be replaced. My business is my second job and since launching it, I’ll be honest with you, I’ve pretty much worked for pennies on the dollar in trying to build up an honest thriving business by myself. When you hire me, you are paying my business, not me. I’m not taking to the bank that $200 you’re paying for your session fee. What you just bought in product? You paid my business, not me. It’s my artistic vision and my hard work that has gotten my business to where it is even now, but it costs money to make money. And after my business pays its bills, it treats me to dinner with my husband when we haven’t seen each other all week while he’s studying and I’m working both jobs. So why do I do it if I am not making all this money? Because I believe in what I offer, because we’ve only lived in Kansas for a few years and still getting to know people, and because I believe in the dream I have for my business. I believe in the vision and business plan I have in place for when my husband graduates school and I can work ONE job, my dream job, my business. When you hire a legal professional photographer, you are hiring the years of blood, sweat, and tears that have been spent becoming an expert on their craft, the sacrifices made spending so much time away from our families, our loved ones, even just regular activities. You’re hiring the protection that a legal business provides; utmost professional behavior that comes with being an expert in our field, written legally binding contracts, protection of property and liability, integrity of following proper tax laws, and so on. The talent and expert skill you are hiring and desire can only be achieved through sacrifice, the very same sacrifices you make in order to have the money to make the choice to invest in a professional display of memories to adorn your walls as your children play, laugh, and love underneath them. When you understand the sacrifice the client brings to the table and the sacrifice the professional photographer brings to the table, everyone understands why it’s an investment. It won’t be cheap, it shouldn’t be cheap, because then the balance of value and sacrifice is off set. It is CUSTOM QUALITY, tailored just to you.

Essentially, what SHOULD happen is this:

The client ENTRUSTS their sacrifice of time away from their family in the form of payment to the professional photographer’s business. The professional photographer brings their talent, skill and education, made possible only through their own sacrifices, to the client. Magic happens, incredible memories are imprinted into time itself in the highest quality and timeless fashion only a professional photographer’s skills can give. During which this time that magic is captured, the photographer is still sacrificing time away from family and loved ones to be able to provide for them. The business pays the photographer last after the business tries to recoup its own sacrifices. Your hard earned income is forever invested in the smiles and art that hangs in your home, or archived in digital devices, whatever the purchase was, and recycled into another breadwinner, who just like you, wants the best for their family. And if something unexpected were to have gone wrong in the transaction, the business protects everyone.

So choosing who to hire to take those precious moments of yours and transform them into something that transcends time is no little decision. Oh so much more goes into the price than a number. But remember one thing you should never have to sacrifice in is quality because in 50-60 years when your great grand kids are looking at and holding these photographs in their hands, well, true professional photography is timeless and they’ll be looking at the same memory then as you are right now as if it was taken yesterday. They won’t be looking just at what someone looks like or what they were wearing, they’ll be looking at your heart. What makes you sing. What makes you smile. What makes you live. A custom tailored experience to you, of you, for your descendents. Safe, secure, and protected, just like you keep your children, their images in this digital age should be kept the same.

There’s no wrong way to take a photograph. But there is a right way to do business. And when you combine the right way to do business with the right professional photographer that you connect with, that’s when magic happens.