http://www.jessijefferson.com Jessi Jefferson is Indianapolis' foremost creative wedding and personality photographer. An expert in technique, Jessi Jefferson gives her clients images that are both artfully distinct and beautifully finished. Her website features online proofing, event planning, and a luminous gallery. en-us Copyright 2001-2010 Jessi Jefferson All Rights Reserved. 240 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_25 "Rivalry adds so much to the charms of one's conquests" ~ Louisa May Alcott 25 2010-03-09 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_24 I am so in love with being outside right now. 24 2010-03-05 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_23 This will be big news to all of my clients who will be ordering albums in 2010... The official catalogue is here! My heart stopped a little when I opened the package yesterday. The GIANT catalogue itself is a sample album and really does a fabulous job at explaining all of the fabulous features that are offered. 18 cover options (silver leather, shantung silk, satin, eco-leather, brocade....) 12 embellishment options (including engraved metal bands, satin ribbons, Swavorski crystals, debossing, and page gilding) all go into making one excellent heirloom object. I ordered the PLEXIGLASS (!) cover for my catalogue album, and as you will see in the second image, it actually makes the cover photograph glow. Pretty outstanding. To top it all off, this is not a press-printed book. The page plates are actual photographs mounted and baked onto each page. The hand-bound albums open completely for stunning panoramic photo lay outs and exciting display options. The painstaking quality makes all of the difference in the world, and I just love it so much! I looked really hard to find the perfect company to produce albums for my clients. I don't see how all of my circumspect work could just sit in a desk drawer on a disc or only be viewed online. Offering heirloom objects is my way of finishing the body of work I have been commissioned for. Of handing you a volume of art that was made just for you. Now, with that being said, could I settle for any less than one-of-a kind, handmade in Lucia, Italy, portfolio albums? No. Way. The wait and endless searching was so worth it. I can't wait to see the faces on my clients once they have received their orders! Oh my! 23 2010-03-04 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_22 What a fun loving family! It is always so wonderful to get together to do a shoot and find so many similarities between myself and my clients. Little Alicia just got glasses, and they are the same as my daughter's! Stephanie and Chris just welcomed their gorgeous new son, Aaron to the family, and we had much to share over the joys (and funny pitfalls) of having a baby in the home. What a warm way to spend a winter evening! Oh, and check out the utter joy on Alicia's face as she is jumping on the giant "nest" chair in my home studio. She stood stunned for a few seconds before she began jumping. She was so sweet and actually had to absorb the fact that I invited her to be just a tiny bit mischievous. Everyone has been very responsive and happy during the family and children shoots I produce. I pretty much try to keep a ratio of reportage (a great time for everyone to relax and ignore me) as well as my high-end conceptual. It seems to make for a sweet and surreal feeling when everything is said and done. I like that a lot. In many ways a family unit and children are very magical to watch in a relaxed element. There is communication that is unique to them. I love watching the secret chemistry of human interaction and some how finding a way to communicate it as a strong concept. These family shoots seem to flow like an afternoon with cozy friends, so by the time I pull out some fashion-forward ideas and lighting gear my clients feel comfortable and understood. The ideas are for them, not everyone. And that's how I find success in communicating their fantastical world. Every family has one, and it's my objective to display it in a way that feels totally effortless for them, yet appears highly thoughtful and descriptive to everyone they share their session with. 22 2010-02-27 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_21 I am picky about the products I use. I, like more and more people everyday, try to keep the impact my use as a consumer has on our wonderful planet as minimal as possible. I have always appreciated that Paul Mitchell products have had the strong ethics about the manner in which they produce their great salves, shampoos, mousses, and other wonderful beauty tinctures. Among their list of good practice they attest the following on their official site: "John Paul Mitchell Systems is devoted to making the world a better place with CEO John Paul DeJoria working to ensure the company follows earth-friendly policies and strategies. Some of his efforts include: • Making Paul Mitchell the first hair care company to publicly oppose animal testing. • Creating aerosol products that meet stringent Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) standards in California. • Harvesting botanicals without harm to the environment. • Using giant solar panels to harness the sun’s energy on our awapuhi farm, on the North Shore of Hawaii. John Paul DeJoria strives to make John Paul Mitchell Systems an example for other companies to follow. "Corporations can and should change the world for the better. We have the perspective needed to leave the world a better place for our having been here." – John Paul DeJoria. " That's pretty cool to me. So, would it have been surprising to anyone that I was enthused at the opportunity to help local hair stylist Ayana Brown enter the annual Paul Mitchell Wash House contest? Nope. Would it have been surprising to anyone that we won? Nah. You see, Ayana is owner and operator of The Eclectic Hair Loft... and she takes hard work and clientele happiness as seriously as I do. Needless to say, we are some pretty determined ladies. We were determined to win. So we did. Of course, in this determination is the understanding that it takes doing everything you possibly can to win. Ayana knew she had a win-worthy spa room. The ambiance, the colors, the products, the pampering. Ayana knew that this had to be successfully communicated to the Paul Mitchell Cut and Dry magazine judges in just the right way. What is all that hard work for if it's lost in the final product? So, she called me. She was super excited and her excitement made me enthusiastic about it all. I could tell she was very hard working and original. I liked her before I even met her. I am happy we met, I am happy she hired me, and we are both happy she won. I approach every photo-shoot as though there is a possibility of winning at something. I mean, really, there is. When a client is happy, a concept is materialized, and the imagery draws others to my work, I get the metaphorical blue ribbon of a job successfully completed. This time, it just happened to be announced by the great folks at Paul Mitchell. 21 2010-02-16 http://www.jessijefferson.com/#blog/all/!post_20 I burst into hysterical tears this morning upon hearing that fashion designer Alexander McQueen has died. I had to pull the car over and compose myself before a meeting. I can't underestimate the profound influence that Alexander has had on my work, ambition, and excitement for design and high end photography. His creations have inspired the world's biggest and best artists, photographers, fim makers, and musicians. The world is a less inspired and bizarre place with his passing. He was, without a doubt, the mind that foremost inspired my macabre and high end aesthetic, and I will mourn his loss from now on. Mr. McQueen told me it was OK to be upset with the dull and the sleepy, to encourage viewers to not only see beauty in it's classic form, but also in the feelings of unease, darkness, and oddity. He was an example on how to be fresh without being a novelty, and of how to revisit without being stale. I raise a toast to British Commander McQueen and his shunning of the practical, plain, ordinary, pragmatic, and status quo trappings of not only (hardly) fashion, but of western society in general. You will be sorely, sorely missed. I urge you to watch the following videos. Hopefully, if I have even succeeded a tiny bit in my work, you will see the huge influence that this master of design has had on myself and my work. RIP, Lee. 20 2010-02-12