And the Winner is...

Thanks to Random.org's random number generator, we have a winner. Comment #5, Kim is our winner!! Congratulations Kim!!! Please email me with your choice of prize.

Fabulous Fall Giveaway!!!

Alright, it's time again for a fun giveaway. This time I'm including a baby boy-friendly alternative. Up for grabs is your choice of a cute pink and white/daisy tutu, a handmade newborn hat, or $30 gift certificate to Captured by Jami.



There are a few ways to enter:

1. Visit Captured by Jami on Facebook and "like" it. Leave a comment below stating you have done so.

2. Post the link to your FB page or Twitter and comment below with a link to your post.

3. Suggest Captured by Jami to 10 friends and leave a comment below stating you have done so.

Three ways to enter!! Do all 3 and get 3 entries! Winner will be chosen by random number generator on Monday, October 18th.

**Bonus** If Captured by Jami gets to 250 "likes" I will give away one free portrait session!!!

I will admit, I have been hiding. This summer had it's crappy moments and moving through it was an obstacle. I've sat up many a night wondering what I wanted to write and how I might write it. I've even started a couple of times, only to delete what I came up with.

The world lost two wonderful women over the summer. The first was my Grandma, Oleva. She was 73 years young and had a fire for life I have seen in few people. She was a spitfire who loved cars, god and her family. I was fortunate enough to get to keep her with me and my family for a week this spring. We spent the week shopping, eating out, and entertaining/spoiling my children. She kept me company while my B was out of town. A week later she was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.. 5 weeks later she passed. My heart still hurts.




The second person was a beautiful, young lady I had gotten to know over the last year. During a single session, I am blessed to get to know the people I photograph. I catch a glimpse of who they are through my lens; from what makes them laugh to how much they care about the people they are with. I had the privilege of capturing Misty in her engagement, wedding, and then newborn photos. She was a kind, vibrant woman who obviously loved her family. She was so proud of her new baby and would sit quietly and just gaze at her while I worked.

A couple of weeks after our last session, she was taken in a senseless act of violence. I still can not wrap my head around it.





It was only after today that I felt the push to move forward, the inspiration to write what I felt. I returned to take the baby girl's 3 month pictures. She is a precious, darling little girl, who looks a lot like her mother. You look in her eyes and she captures your heart.. but give her a moment and she will flash her beautiful smile and take your breath too. She is so sweet and happy and surrounded by a family who so obviously loves her. She was passed from one aunt to another and tossed into the air by her daddy. She giggled and cooed, and constantly flashed her dimples. I am so proud of this family, of this daddy.. who has faced the unthinkable and trudged through it. He has this perfect little bundle to cling to and lift up, and he is doing a fantastic job.



I pray for justice for this family, and a peace that comes with that smile.

Until next time...

A Secret Garden...

My family loves going on adventures, and I love finding new places to explore. Places off the radar from a majority of the population. This place is a lovely little park that has numerous hiking trails, a small waterfall, cave, koi pond, and garden. Though it is just off a major highway in Kansas City, it seems to have been overlooked by most. What a find!

Drum roll please......

And the winner of Captured by Jami's Spring Giveaway is....... number 6(thanks to Random.org)! Jennifer Woosley, a new Facebook fan! Congratulations, you have a choice between a $50 gift certificate to Captured by Jami Photography, or a beautiful pink and white tutu, handmade by Created by Jami.

Thank you to all who entered! Keep watch for other giveaways in the future!

Captured by Jami's Spring Giveaway begins today!

Hello spring, goodbye snow! It is time for a spring giveaway!! The winner will get their choice of this adorable pink & white tutu or a $50 gift certificate for Captured by Jami Photography. The tutu is perfect for dress up or as a all too cute prop for child photography, this is the size I use for 1-4 year olds. The gift certificate can be used towards any portrait session.

This giveaway will begin today, March 24, and run through April 7

1. Become a fan of CapturedbyJami on Facebook & come back here and leave a comment letting me know you are now a fan.

2. Post a link to the giveaway on your Facebook wall, then come back and link to your post.

3. If you are not registered to leave a comment on this blog, choose anonymous and leave an email address so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck!!!!

Who doesn't love free stuff??

Ahh.. spring has returned! Now, if this snow would just melt out of sight I would be happy.

I've been seeing a lot of spring giveaways and I'm thinking it may be time for Captured by Jami to hop on the bandwagon. I mean my fans deserve the chance to win something wonderful too! Up for grabs will be a beautiful pink & white tutu, great for any little princess/photo prop or a $50 credit for Captured by Jami photography. So be looking in the next few days for my giveaway to begin.

There is something truly special about maternity sessions. I love watching an expectant mother through my lens, the way she holds and caresses her belly, smiles down at the miraculous little life within her. Those nine months fly by all to quickly and in capturing just a small sample of those moments on film I am able to give a mother something she can treasure for a lifetime. Is it any wonder I love my job so much!

Inevitably, naked babies will pee..

Spring is a busy time for a photographer. In order to maximize my time I often stack meetings and sessions. This weekend I learned a valuable lesson. When scheduling anything after a newborn session, be sure to bring a change of clothes. Inevitably, naked babies will pee, it's simply a hazard of my profession I have come to expect. However, it was a little embarrassing walking into a Starbucks with a wet spot on my pants looking to meet a potential client. Luckily, the spot had almost dried and no one was the wiser. The meeting was a success and I was able to giggle on the inside at what only I knew.

What a week!

So, I won't lie. This week started off very bumpy for me. I felt used and abused which had my outlook for the week pretty grim. Then I get a call to do an Op:Love homecoming session, which can't help but leave you dancing on cloud nine. To top it off I got to spend lunch with a great friend, reminding me that while you can' t control all of the bad, you can choose to let it roll off of you and relish in all the good!

So, it's Friday and I'm feeling quite bubbly! I have a couple of meetings regarding weddings, a maternity shoot with a friend, and a newbie shoot with a 2 week old. It's going to be a busy and fun weekend.

Ahh.. sweet escape

Blah! I'm don't feel well, I've been stuck in the house for days and the light at the end of the tunnel is still pretty distant. I am tired of TV, have finished the books I was reading and am in need of some sort of stimulation before I go mad. And then it hits me.. I'm not sure why I didn't think about it earlier, but a mental vacation is just what the doctor ordered. I simply open the folder "Road trip 2008" and I'm off. Winding through the mountains on the back of a motorcycle in Colorado... Climbing to the edge of a canyon to look thousands of feet down, the butterflies in my stomach going wild.. The freezing cold sprays of the white water rapids in New Mexico chilling me to my bones... I close my eyes and I'm there.. I can now drift out of consciousness with a smile on my face and hope to wake feeling a little better.

And if I don't.. I'll just open another folder and visit my dear friends on the beaches of California.

The beginning...

I was going to create two different blogs. One for photography and one just about me. However, as I tried to separate the two parts of me for these blogs I came to a brick wall. I put so much of myself into my photography that to separate the two would be an exceedingly difficult task. Photography is a part of who I am. I can most effectively express myself, share myself, and get lost behind my lens.

Life is an adventure, and the moments that take your breath away are gone in an instant. My camera is a tool that I use to capture every moment I can. Life flies by, children grow up too quickly, love intensifies with every second. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but they can also hold a million feelings, show unexpected truths, keep saucy secrets, and hold together friends separated by a thousand miles.