• LIVE, LAUGH & ALWAYS PHOTOGRAPH.

Last weekend I attended The Flourish Workshop in Somerville at the Warehouse XI venue.  This workshop was about blogging, social media, finances, creative direction and the ins and outs of a Styled Shoot and how to properly photograph it.  One of my main goals is to put myself on a successful track to becoming a full time photographer.  What an honor to learn from these four ladies:

Shannon Grant Photography
Emily Tebbetts Photography
Kelly Golia Events
Gabi Vallardes 

I walked away learning the ins and outs  of posting all at once on social media, to blogging regularly and knowing when it is a good time to take the leap with my business especially with my finances in a good spot.  I LOVE learning about the business side of any business.  First thing I will be changing is my pricing.  I’ll be offering several packages so my clients can pick the best option that works for them.  In addition,  I’ll start  using a platform to post all of my social media and plan posts ahead of time.  With Baby Pidg on the way, my time will shift to our baby so putting good habits to use now will help me down the road.  Less than 3 months to go and I STILL have SO MUCH TO DO.  Good thing I’m nesting and getting things done!

I honestly can’t thank these ladies enough.  I feel more confident in myself as a business owner.  They gave me so many tools to set me up for success, especially with Baby Pidg on the way.  I would also like to thank the vendors we worked with on the photoshoot for their contribution:
Model: Katie Liston with New England Models Group
Florist: The Wild Dahlia
Venue: Warehouse XI
Makeup & Hair Artist: Amanda McCarthy Beauty
Dress: Flair
Rentals: Be Our Guest
Vintage: Rust and Luxe

Xoxo Jen Araya

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While attending the United Conference back in November, I had a chance to sign up for a styled shoot.   One of the best parts is learning from your peers.  Cassie Jones shared her tips and tricks on how to photograph a couple during bridal portraits.  Taking desert photos to add to your portfolio is not a bad way to spend your afternoon.  I mean who doesn’t love some wedding inspiration!

A sweet couple got all dressed up for the class and got to spend some quality time cuddling in front of 30+ photographers; all trying to get the same shot.  I’m sure it’s or it must be intimidating for the couple but they were troopers!  Taking time to put your relationship first and making time for each other is so important.  Every couple should take time and get portraits every year to celebrate being together.  Let’s face it, marriage is hard work.

Enjoy some of my favorite photos from this sunset styled shoot in the desert of Phoenix, Arizona.  If you are traveling and want to be photographed at your destination, please keep me in mind!  As you know I love an adventure.

A special thanks to the vendors!

Florals + Design + China + Linens – Sarah’s Wedding Gardens

Furniture: Farm Tables + Benches + Boho Chairs – Dang Fine Rentals

Floral Supplies – Afloral

Dress — Uptown Bridal

Cake — Lesley’s Creative Cakes — Arizona

Xoxo Jen Araya

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  • March 29, 2017 - 1:56 pm

    Johanna - Wonderful pictures. I love the tablescape.ReplyCancel

  • March 29, 2017 - 3:07 pm

    liz - Simply stunning. I love the colors!ReplyCancel

  • March 29, 2017 - 3:48 pm

    Karen Shoufler - So pretty! Great shots. 🙂 Styled shoots are so fun.ReplyCancel

  • March 29, 2017 - 4:46 pm

    Sara O'Hara - Love this!! Cassie is the best and these images are beautiful! Take me back to United!!ReplyCancel

  • March 30, 2017 - 1:05 pm

    Liz - Just beautiful!ReplyCancel

  • March 30, 2017 - 5:55 pm

    Misty - I was supposed to make it that shoot and was super bummed when I didn’t!! It looks gorgeous!ReplyCancel

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My husband Sean came up with a great idea, why not travel to New York City for the long weekend as a Christmas gift!  What a sweet man!  We both have been to NYC but not together.  We picked a weekend in January and roamed around the city with no plans what so ever!  Those trips when you don’t have anything planned end up working out for the best!  I will explain later on.

I reached out to a good friend of mine, Lauren who used to live in NYC.  Sean and I each picked out one place we wanted to visit while in the city.  We told her we wanted to visit the 911 Memorial and the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise.  My good friend Lauren mapped out a great itinerary for us with those places in mind.  She’s the best and even listed out AMAZING restaurants to try.  We followed the itinerary but also did our own thing.  The one place we wanted to visit was Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree.  Well, we waited one night too late and missed it but can always go back next year!

On Day One we visited central park, went to the American Museum of Natural History, with the world’s largest dinosaur skeleton on display, and found a local Italian restaurant.  There was a long wait for dinner so after we called it a night because we were exhausted from traveling and knew we would be walking all around town the next day.

Day Two, we attempted to get up early to be at the Brooklyn Bridge for sunrise BUT Mother Nature had her own plans and it was already snowing.  So instead, we grabbed breakfast at Bubby’s – Tribeca.  The food was so delicious!  It was a cute, quaint restaurant with lots of character.  Then we made our way over to the 911 Memorial.  We both wanted to go there and visit the museum.  I would highly recommend going there at least once.  I have to say I was impressed with all of the kids there; they were extremely quiet and well behaved.  We spent 4+ hours there and could have stayed longer.  While there I had set up a reminder to enter a day of raffle for a chance to purchase tickets to see the Award Winning Broadway Show Hamilton!  On the ticket website you could enter to win day of tickets, and as I had mentioned before we did not have any plans what so ever, so we said why not.  Later on that afternoon I received the email that we won and paid $20 for a pair of tickets to see Hamilton at the 8pm show that Saturday night!  WHAT?? Is this real?  Sean thought I was kidding.  We picked out a nice restaurant close to the theater and toasted to a fun weekend.  When we arrived we had no idea where our seats were and we didn’t care because we were going to Hamilton, which is the Broadway show to see right now.  Boy, were we in for a treat!  We got escorted to the FRONT ROW!!!  We could see everything!  It was a great show, highly recommend and if you can enter the day of raffle!  You never know.

Day Three, we made it to the Brooklyn Bridge but not for sunrise.  The weather was not in our favor that morning but we were happy to see that part of the city.  I hope one day, if any couples want to be photographed there, they will keep me in mind!  I love adventures and it would be an amazing location for sunrise.  We also went to the observatory deck at the top of One Tower  at the World Trade Center.  I highly recommend it as there is so much to see and the elevator ride is fun!  I was a little nervous with being pregnant and possibly being dizzy at the top, but there were no issues.  We saw amazing views of the city and surrounding areas.

All and all I personally walked 48,250 steps and 22.19 miles that weekend.  It was a nice little getaway to spend time together exploring a new city.  I can’t wait to go back!  Enjoy a few photos from our trip.

Xoxo Jen Araya

And a few iPhone photos from our weekend

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I want to share my experience of attending the United conference this past November.  I had attended my first United conference back in 2014.  I knew it was time to attend another conference this year not only to grow as a small business owner but for myself also.  United was a great fit for me 3 years ago and once I saw the list of speakers I knew it was the right fit for me again!

I reached out to a few local photographers to see if they were attending and quickly learned that I may not know many at this conference.  When I purchased my ticket months prior, I was confident in myself!  Yes, I can travel by myself!   Even though I wasn’t sure anyone I knew was going, I will go, I will make new friends.  But, that confident feeling changed as soon as I got there.  I kept asking myself ‘What am I Doing Here?’  I was constantly questioning, Why? I was stepping out of my comfort zone.  I called Sean and expressed how I was feeling.  Of course being a rockstar husband, he said no you’re meant to be there!  I quickly realized I was here for a reason.   I needed to take full advantage of my time here and think back to why I wanted to come here in the first place, TO LEARN!!!  I picked specific speakers to listen too with one goal in mind, becoming a FULL TIME PHOTOGRAPHER!

Below are my Top 5 Highlights of my trip:

  1. Meeting other photographers
    • Getting to meet others in your industry is a key component. You can learn from each other and know that you are not alone in the industry.
  2. Attending breakout sessions that I thought would help me achieve my goal to going full time
    • Yes becoming a full time photographer has been a goal of mine since the very beginning. t Some of the speaker’s sessions hit home hard and I found myself crying as I listened to them.  Especially Mary Marantz!!!  I love you girl.  All of the speakers were amazing and I had many tears throughout the week.
  3. Styled Shoots
    • Learning from the pros.
  4. New headshots
    • Dressing up in a gorgeous Badgley Mischka dress from Rent the Runway for the Ball and on top of that getting photographed by Chad was amazing!!! He set up all these light stands and made me feel like a model.  Not going to lie when I was getting my photo taken I was secretly smiling in the photo because I knew I was pregnant and no one there knew yet.
    • Also work up for sunrise headshots with my friend Sarah from Heather & Sarah Photography. When in Rome, I mean Arizona, you got where the dirt and cacti are!  Love my new headshots!
    • I will share more photos in another blog post
  5. Going outside of my comfort zone
    • Questioning why am I here? Am I at the right place?  Do I fit in?  What am I doing here?  As I reflect on this trip, I’m proud to say that I did do this on my own and can do it on my own!  I made some amazing new friends and love that I got an opportunity to attend this conference.

I’ll be sharing more photos of the styled shoots next week!

Xoxo Jen Araya

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As you may have heard, last week my husband and I announced that we are pregnant and expecting our first child in June.  You can find out more details here.  We had kept this to ourselves, close family and friends up until last week on purpose.  Having a baby was a BIG goal of ours, and this journey started two and a half years ago.  We struggled to get pregnant, and had exhausted all other options before turning to IVF.  To be honest I wasn’t ready for IVF.  I wasn’t sure I was a believer, but I said to myself it was worth trying and I would have regretted not trying this option.  One of the biggest hurdles for me was preparing myself for all of the needles!

We did it together, and as a team we powered through what felt like TONS of appointments, even though it was not that bad.  As we approached the three month mark I felt more and more like I’d be ready to share, but each time we’d leave I’d say to myself “Nope, I’m in no rush!”  I was not quite ready to talk about this process, and part of me still couldn’t believe that we were finally pregnant.

We have been very fortunate so far, and have met and know other couples going through the same struggle.  If you are currently going through IVF right now, please reach out to me.  I would love to meet up and share stories and let you know YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!!  There are so many of us, and I am here for SUPPORT!  I don’t know if I’ll ever be comfortable sharing all the in, outs, ups and downs of our particular journey, but I think it’s important that people have a person they can talk to if they are experiencing this wonderful (but occasionally overwhelming) process.  Take everything step by step and ask lots of questions.  I wrote everything down in a journal to track my numbers from blood work and ultrasounds, instructions on which medicines to take on specific days at certain times, you name it.  It helped me understand the process and get through all of those needles.  Again, just remember you are not alone!

Fans, I will share but this topic is special, sensitive and extremely close to the heart.  For the 22 weeks we didn’t share on social media, it was fun and enjoyable to be pregnant and only our closest people in our life knew about.  It was also a time that my husband and I were able to truly enjoy what will be some of the most cherished memories of our entire lives together.

I challenge you to reflect on what you post daily, monthly, yearly.  Some announcements are worth holding back!  It’s a moment in the past that you will not get back!

Xoxo Jen Araya

Mr Pidg making his debut!

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  • March 2, 2017 - 2:16 pm

    Nancy Loncto - So proud of you. Such a lady who is very thoughtful and articulate beyond measure! The best is yet to come.❤️ReplyCancel

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