4 years ago today

4 years ago today I married the most amazing man i've ever met!!!

I LOVE you Jamie!!! Happy anniversary!!!

I think we are up again!!!

I think we are up and running again with the blog! If you find things that aren't working please let me know!! I'm so thankful to WebFixer, a random person on the blogger groups page, who totally helped lead me to the right direction in fixing the problem! I understand some HTML and can usually get by pretty good, but when it comes to fixing things like this I don't know where to start, so i'm so thankful to those who help out!!!! Thanks:):)

Blog Issues

Well everyone, as you can see we are having some major issues with our blog... it is not pretty at all and things are not working correctly.

I have been trying to talk to blogger about why it all the sudden stopped working correctly, but it's taking a lot of time... so please bear with the ugliness as we try to get everything fixed.

Karen and Jerry

A couple of weeks ago it was pouring rain all day long; I was very nervous because Karen and Jerry had planned a gorgeous intimate wedding at one of my favorite places to shoot a wedding, the Royal Palms. Everyone was wondering what was going to happen and it was all up in the air; however, Karen was determined to go forth with her outside ceremony and was determined to get some amazing pictures. Well, her determination paid off and God moved the rain clouds away from the Royal Palms and allowed for a very beautiful afternoon!

We were able to get some amazing pictures of the day; starting off with Karen getting ready in her wonderful room and then going to the pictures of Karen and Jerry. They choose to see each other before the ceremony, which proved to be an amazing intimate time. The family was wonderful and I had a great time with them at the ceremony.

As always, the staff at Royal Palms was exceptional. They took care of everything and make Karen and Jerry feel like a King and Queen.

I had a wonderful day and we got some amazing pictures! Enjoy!

The grounds at the Royal Palms is breathtaking from the moment you arrive! It is a wonderful place to photograph.

So many wonderful details!



Karen putting on the final touches.



I love this picture of Karens Maid of Honor helping her with her dress.



We then moved on to the wonderful couple pictures!! Karen and Jerry choose to see each other before the wedding and I love the look on Jerrys face when he saw her.















I love this shot of Jerry.




And Karen looked Gorgeous!!






We then moved to the Alegria Garden where the ceremony was held.

































Everyone threw Rose Petals at them as they were leaving! It was great!



And to end the ceremony a wonderful glass of champagne with the new Mr. and Mrs.



Thank you both for such a wonderful day!! You looked stunning!!


Also - i'm having blogger issues and had to delete this post and then repost it, but that means I lost the comments I had on the post, so I am going to post them below this so you all don't miss what everyone is saying!

3 comments:

Jessi said...

congrats Karen & Jerry! And hey, you even had blue skies! beautiful! :)
January 22, 2008 7:31 PM

mary beth tyson said...

These are really incredible! So much feeling in them.
January 22, 2008 10:58 PM

Chris & Tammie said...

Beautiful images! :)

Update on 101 in 1001

I got an email today from a very long time friend that I haven't heard from in forever. She was excited and inspired about my 101 in 1001 list. Read her email below....

Kim,

I don't know when you are going to get a chance to see this but I was reading your list of 101 things in 1001 days and was deeply inspired. I have gotten away from lists and have not been as strategic as I would like to have been the last three years. Kinda slipped into a survival mode and not liking it a bit. Some new things have been stirring in my heart such as obtaining my teacher certification, my masters in education and marrying my Sweetheart. I want to thank you for making your list and for taking the time to post it so that others could see and be reminded again of pursuing after life with intentionality and gusto! This article came as perfect timing and I love you for it! I wish xxxxxxx (that is my Beloved fiance) and I could hire you to do our photography. Hands down, you produce the most candid and joyous pictures I have ever seen. My sister and I were on the phone from our perspective computers going thru all the wedding and engagement photos.....what beautiful and anointed work!

If you have time, I would love to talk to you...at least about blogging and business. You've realy stirred a passion in me and just talking to you could help me regain a steadfast and determined focus.

xxxxxxxxxxx.

Emails like this make me really happy because it is so good to hear that the things that I am doing are making a difference in peoples lives. When I got into this business I did it because photography was a passion and I knew that is was a wonderful way that I could get to know a lot of people and in turn I hoped that I would be able to make a difference in a lot of people’s lives for the better.

Sometimes I forget about this aspect and I start thinking too much about the business side, when really it is all about the relationship side. I admit that this is a struggle for me sometimes and I wish it wasn’t… I LOVE People!! Really, there isn't much a point in life if you aren't doing something that is making a difference, whether it be in what you do for work or in every day life.

I hope that at every wedding and event that I do people see passion in me for photography and for life. I hope that when they see their pictures they see life captured and are moved by even the little things. I hope that I make a difference every day.

Emails like this make me go back and try to gain focus of what I am doing and I love that.

I also realized that I haven’t updated my 101 in 1001 list in awhile and there are a few things on the list that I have accomplished, so I thought that I would go ahead and share that with you all.

5. Successfully switch my company name to Kimberly Jarman Photography

We are officially Kimberly Jarman Photography, LLC. This has been a huge change for us over the last year, but there was so much confusion with our old name, MichelleAllen Photography, that it has been a welcome change that people now know me as Kimberly!! To read more of why we changed our name look to the right in the About Kim Section.

Our logo was designed in August and we jumped into our brand new studio as well! So far the change has been wonderful!

14. Find a software package for clients

This has been a huge accomplishment for me! We have partnered up with an amazing company to be able to track all of our production, shoots, contacts, and more. We are now using Shoot Q
to track everything. It is such an amazing piece of software and I am so excited to use it! I makes it so much easier for everyone, including my clients. You can now book your wedding, sign your contract and even pay for everything online. You can also enter in all your wedding details and keep track of your vendors. This software is changing every day for the better and soon there will be even more that we can do!!!

16. Stickers with logos

We finally were able to order stickers with my logo on it!! I LOVE them!!!

19. Cruise in Bahamas/Caribbean

My husband and I just got back from a cruise in the Eastern Caribbean in December. It was a fun time and I recommend cruising to everyone... just make sure you are able to take sea sickness pills if you get sea sick!!!

You can view more pictures Here.



33. Family picture of the Gerharts (the entire group)

During Christmas this year I did a group family shot. You can view the post here.



42. Write a letter to my compassion child

My husband and I support a child in Africa. It is so hard sometimes to find time to sit down and write a letter to him, but I know more than anything that when he hears from us it means the world to him! I need to work on doing it more often, but the other day I sat down and did write a letter.

We support our child through Compassion International, a wonderful organization that changes peoples lives all over the world. If you are interested in helping out kids in Africa from the outbreak of Aids, or other kids who are barely making it each day I suggest you look at Compassion International. There are a lot of other great companies out there that help as well!

93. Get involved in a small group at my church

Another thing that I have been wanting to do for such a long time is get involved in a small group at my church. I think that it is so important to be part of a group that is constantly challenging you in your walk with God and life. Jamie and I have joined an amazing group of people and meet once a week for encouragement and friendship! I wouldn't trade it for the world!!


Wow, 7 things that I can check off of my 101 in 1001 list!!! This feels good!!!

I would love to hear how you are doing with your list if you have started one or if you are going to start one! If you do start one and put it on the blog I will put a link up on my blog so that people can check out your progress and encourage you! It really is a great thing!!!

Christmas 2007

My family is one of the most important things to me in my life, so this Christmas I wanted to make sure that we got a family picture. I grabbed everyone who was in the house for Christmas this year, set up the camera, and got some great shots.

My family seems to grow during Christmas because we open up the house to a lot of different people. So we took 2 different shots; one with everyone in the house and then another with just our family.

This is our extended Christmas family... serious and then fun!








This is my immediate family on my moms side. We are a bunch of nerds and I love them all!

Nicole and Steven

My first session of 2008 did not disappoint me! I met up with an amazing, in love, and totally HOT couple, Nicole and Steven.

We went to Downtown Scottsdale and got some amazing pictures.

They both totally worked it for the camera and their LOVE shows. I love sessions where I just take pictures and the couples do the rest. Beautiful!

Enjoy!

This is one of my favorites, straight out of a magazine!






























Another Fav!



Thanks guys! You are the best!! Love the shots and I can't wait until the wedding! We are going to have a blast!!!!

Little Baby Addison

More Baby Pictures!!!!

A few weeks back I was able to take pictures of little Miss. Addison. What a cutie I tell you!!! We had a great time and got some great pictures of this little girl.

Their little Dog is a great protector and was very cautious about the intruder with the camera. But she calmed down and by the end was trying to get into all the pictures.



She's ready to go work!! Addisons mom is a nurse, so we had to get some scrubs in the picture!



I love naked babies!!!



I think she is going to be a little princess for sure!



I love this shot and how Addie is looking at her Daddy... the next one as well!












Little Feet are so wonderful!







Addie got a little fussy and Mom was trying to comfort her.



What an intimate moment between Addie and her mom. Makes my heart melt!



Bath Time!!!!






And then nap time. Although she ended up not wanting to sleep.






And to end it all, we did a family picture! Aren't they a wonderful family!



Thanks guys! I had a great time! I can't wait until her next session!

Question and Answer Time:)

From time to time I get people who email me and ask me questions about photography, how I started, what equipment I use, how to do certain things, and just general things.

I decided that it would benefit more people if I went ahead and shared my answers on the blog. Hopefully this will inspire more people.

If you ever have a question please feel free to shoot me an email... it might take a little time to respond, but I will get to you, I promise!!

Cori emailed me a little while back and is an aspiring photographer. She had a great question that I thought I would share with everyone.

1. When you discovered this was something that you wanted to do, what did you do or what steps did you take? How did you get started? Did you start out with a studio and such or did you just photograph people until you began to get enough money to make it a business? Who are the people I should start talking to if this is something I am serious about?

Photography has always been something I loved as well. In High School my grandfather let me use a brand new 35 mm camera he had just bought. We were on a trip to Oregon and all I did is take pictures. I LOVED IT and was addicted. Later on he gave me the camera and told me to make good use out of it! I took a few classes in college and learned the basics of photography. I loved photographing people and just started grabbing friends to go out and do photo shoots. After awhile people knew I liked photography and some of my friends who were getting married asked me to be the photographer at their wedding. I was scared to death to do it, but I agreed. I did 4 or 5 weddings for friends and the last two I did got me addicted. I was in-between jobs at the time and was having a hard time finding something else to do, so I decided what the heck, lets go for it and start my own company. I had nothing to loose because I was finishing up college and about to get married. I figured that I would try it out and if nothing came out of it I would look harder for another job.

Well word spread and I got a few clients, then a few more, then a lot more. I had already booked 30 weddings in my first year; people wanted something different for their wedding, not the traditional posed pictures; they loved what they saw.

My story is similar to others that I have talked to, sometimes you have to take a leap of faith to see what will happen. My best advice is to take that leap with professionalism and quality. I made sure that I had a wonderful website and I had great work to show people. The more work I was able to do the bigger my portfolio got. I went into my photography with the mindset that it was a business and I ran it as such.

For some people it is harder to take this leap because there are other things holding you back, such as providing for a family or even just yourself. My suggestion is to do photography on the side for awhile, still create a professional business and work hard. Once you realize that you can provide through photography make the jump.

I did not start out in an actual studio. I worked out of my house for 4 years and just recently got a studio. Studio's are a big expense, so you need to make sure that you are really going to stick it out and do well before you jump into a studio space.

Talk to people that you know or respect and ask them for advice. Show your work to professionals and ask for critiques; however, be willing to take constructive criticism and learn from what people tell you. There is always more that you can learn, no matter what stage your photography is at.

Stay tuned for more Question and Answer time with Kimberly Jarman!

Tina and Nathan

Tina and Nathan were married yesterday and it was such a wonderful wedding!! I have known about Tina since I was little because her picture has always been on my grandparents refrigerator; Tina’s family has lived in Africa forever as missionaries and they have been a part of my grandparents church. When Tina moved back a few years ago I was able to get to know her personally. She is also great friends with 2 of my other girlfriends, Rose and Sarah, both who were in the wedding party.

Tina and Nathan met in Africa because Nathan’s family also lived out there and his dad is a pastor out there. The wedding was beautiful and really incorporated a lot of Africa into it. The decorations, music and ceremony all incorporated their history and it was awesome to watch.

I had a great time being a part of the wedding and I love the pictures that we got!

Tina got her hair done by my favorite hairstylist, Tracy!!! Tracy is my sister, my friend Rose, Tina, me, and even my husband’s hairstylist; she has become a really good friend, so it was great to have her there!

Gorgeous Dress!






An intimate moment between Tina and her mom.


Tina and Nathan decided to see each other before so that we could do all the pictures before the ceremony. This was a great idea considering that the ceremony wasn't until 6:00 and it was already dark! Nathan loved how Tina looked!


Tina and her Brothers.














I love this shot!








Aren't they so cute?





I Love this Guy shot!











This was right before the ceremony, a tender moment with Tina and her Dad.










A Tradition in Africa is that the family of the bride receives cows for a wedding gift, so Nathans Dad presented Tina's Dad with small cows during the ceremony; A very comedic moment.



Thank you guys for allowing me to be a part of the wedding!!! You are both truly special people and I wish you the best!

To view a slide show of more of the pictures click here.

Happy New Year!

I very quickly wanted to say happy new year to all of you! I have been enjoying the time with my family this holiday season! We will be back in the office tomorrow to answer calls and emails!