Shara J Photography

Eric

2009-06-04T21:48:00.010-05:00

If you're in my family, and you have a little one, expect a spontaneous photo shoot to take place like so at a recent family reunion. I tried to get Eric's older brother and father to be apart of it, but they were being typical boys and got carried away at the Falls leaving me with Eric and his mom, Angelica.

Nathan

2009-06-03T22:20:00.015-05:00

Keeping up with the Joneses

2009-06-03T21:48:00.014-05:00

Meet the Jones Family...I am their official babysitter, and hopefully their official photographer as of 2 months ago (I'm so bad at uploading!!) :) I've yet to take on a family with three kids 4 and under behind the lens. I imagined it would be far more difficult than a typical Friday night at their house, but they made it just as easy. The kids' grandparents did say these were the best photos ever taken professionally of the family and mentioned some studios where they went to in years past. I gladly took that as a compliment, but with kids this cute it's hard to take a bad photo.

Black, White, and Blue

2009-04-27T10:29:00.016-05:00

I was blown away one Sunday morning, when one of my 8th grade girls told me she was putting together a dance for her grade that would benefit the Ronald McDonald House charity. A victorian house in town that's used for weddings and receptions gave them use of their facilities for the evening, and I knew immediately I needed to offer my photography services so she could have great memories captured of the dance. It's been a very, very, very long time since I was surrounded by a bunch of 14 year olds on a dance floor, but I had a blast, and it took more restraint than ever before to not join in with them. Thanks to Diana, I was able to try out some new developing she found to give the photos a little more of an edge that those youngsters were sure to like:

With Shara, you get photos

2009-01-15T17:44:00.015-06:00

Being apart of my friends' weddings is such a fun time for me. On occasion, they tell me as much as they want me to photograph their wedding (who knows how "much" that really is??), they want me to be able to relax and enjoy myself. I certainly don't mind that one bit, but it doesn't mean my camera won't be tagging along with me. My favorite part of the wedding day is being around the bride and her bridesmaids while they are getting ready so while I may have another assignment like standing up with other bridesmaids or handing out programs at the door, I still make it a point to capture moments like these:

Rachel & Ryan

2009-01-11T21:27:00.009-06:00

For months Rachel and I did our best to find a time to take engagement photos of her and Ryan, but it just wasn't happening. We only live a few blocks apart, but with her Law School and wedding planning as well as Ryan's work schedule and my well, nothing really caused me to be unavailable we were running out of time. Finally, we found a time that all three of us would be available...immediately after their wedding rehearsal...as in 28 hours before their wedding! We had 45 minutes of daylight and 30 minutes to take them before we needed to head over to the rehearsal dinner, so that being said here they are...

2nd Annual Brazier family photo shoot

2009-01-05T20:12:00.018-06:00

Before Christmas in 2007, I drove a couple of hours east to meet my lovely friend, Leslie, who was in town from Alabama spending the week at her in-law's house. We were going to take photos of her daughter, Olivia, but her mother-in-law suggested we take photos of the whole family. I was up for the challenge of posing all 8 of them, and they turned out well enough that I was asked to take them again this Christmas in addition to another family...Leslie's sister-in-law's in-laws...talk about confusing! But it went equally as smooth as last year while I worked quickly to avoid random sprinkles and wind gusts.

Meet the Torberts:

Meet the Braziers:

Chris & Stephanie

2008-12-15T16:35:00.010-06:00

I usually give my clients the option of structure or nature as their backdrop. Chris, a great friend of mine since college, decided nature would be the best for him and his sister to take photos in. Unfortunately they didn't realize just how much I would immerse them in nature, and Stephanie showed up in some super cute and sparkly silver heels. Thankfully she's an outdoorsy girl at heart so she hung in there while I walked them across a shallow creek and past thorns to get some wonderful photos that will hopefully move their mother to tears on Christmas day.

Gone country

2008-11-25T15:24:00.008-06:00

My sister, her husband, and her son are in the process of selling their home in the suburbs and moving to the country. We had a little get-together on her in-law's land where they will be building a house next year, and while I was there, I put my camera to use for fifteen minutes worth of family photos my nephew was finally able to cooperate for. My brother-in-law was actually the least cooperative of the trio. Nothing new. The first time I took photos of him for their engagement, I tried to make it as quick and painless as possible at his request. He certainly appreciated it, and since then I've always worked quickly with my clients doing my best not to make them work too hard just in case there are others out there like the brother-in-law.

It's pretty evident that country life will suit my nephew just fine.

Lora

2008-11-11T13:03:00.010-06:00

My first photo session with Lora took place in her parents' living room on a huge ottoman about 2 weeks after she was born. She was tiny enough that we put her inside a stocking for her birth announcement/Christmas card photo. Ever since then, one of the reasons I look forward to this time of year is because I get to take new photos for her family's Christmas card. This year, was by far the most enjoyable because I finally got to take more photos of her with her parents. Amie and Toby were my second clients when I started taking photos in college. I really didn't know what I was doing then, but Amie was my sister's best friend from high school and her roommate in college so they saw the photos I took for my sister and her husband and the rest is history. Hopefully when Lora is 18, I'll still be her Christmas card photographer, or at least get the opportunity for senior photos.

J'Lee turned 1!

2008-10-22T21:21:00.009-05:00

When I took J'Lee's photos for the first time when she was 8 months, I thought she couldn't be any more beautiful...until we took photos to celebrate her first birthday! Her personality has come out in full force in just a few short months, and I found myself being so caught up in enjoying her that I probably missed alot of great photo opportunities. There's something about this little girl that makes my heart swell and then melt every time I see her! This time she almost broke my heart when I (gently) removed a used cigarette butt from her hand and saw that bottom lip of hers start quivering as you will see below.

Be prepared for involuntary smiling and sighing as you scroll through...

The Swindles

2008-07-24T19:58:00.010-05:00

Of all the photo shoots I've had, families are the fewest I've had the pleasure of working with, especially ones with toddlers and babies. I tend to take the laid back approach when working with little ones and just take what I can get, but when there are two more people added into the mix, I just never know how will turn out. Somehow it always goes well despite my worry as I'm driving to meet them. Stella turned one a few days after our photo shoot, so as planned, her parents put these photos on a slide show for the rest of their family to enjoy during her party. From what I was told the following week, they were a big hit, and I should hopefully have an annual session with the three of them - or possibly more as their family grows - and I can't wait!!

J'Lee

2008-07-10T21:17:00.008-05:00

Over a month ago, I spent a little bit of time with J'Lee on the Hardin-Simmons campus so we could take some photos of her at 8 months after her mom and I finished a day of work. I don't know why I'm just now getting these on here, but that's how it goes with me sometimes. Without further delay, enjoy this beautiful little girl...

Don't worry, this won't be the last you'll see of her. We already have plans for her 1-year photos in a few months. I can't wait!!!!!!!

Networking

2008-06-01T21:00:00.007-05:00

I got a call on Friday from my friend/insurance agent. I immediately thought something was wrong with my insurance, but then I was hopeful that the call was going to be a request to take another round of photos of his daughter. I was doubly wrong. He called to tell me he's been developing a networking group in the city he works in which happens to be the city I used to live in, and he thought it would be a great opportunity for me to expand my business. He and his wife are fans of my work, and they always throw my name out for friends and family which I thoroughly appreciate. His business card even has a photo I took of his daughter so every person he comes in contact with gets to see my work...not too shabby!

Now at this networking meeting there's lots of card-swapping between real estate agents, insurance agents, and other self-employed/independent agents. Only problem is, I don't actually have business cards. So for the past couple of hours I created these to have printed up hopefully before the first meeting:

Olivia!

2008-05-14T13:14:00.001-05:00

My dear friend Leslie's lovely little girl turned ONE last week!!! Her mom wanted some new photos taken of her so I did my best to be accommodating. The one draw back to photographing a baby that can crawl is well, they crawl and don't stay put long. So I do what I figure is the best thing. I just sit there with my camera attached to my eyeball waiting for the right moment no matter how long it takes. Here's a few from our little photo shoot. Excuse the extreme brightness. After days of rain and yuck, the sun was in full force that afternoon!

No matter what though, I always seem to enjoy the photos the most where I'm just sitting in the room with a little one capturing all the expressions and moments. These are my absolute favorites, and they're so cute, my heart hurts a little every time I look at them...in a good way of course!

Oh goodness!

2008-05-01T21:34:00.003-05:00

I felt the urge to make a new blog that I will probably be updating far more than this one because this only gets updated when I have clients. I'm sure one of these days it'll pick up as more and more people are blown away with my mad skills, but in the meantime I'll be telling all sorts of stories you probably don't care to read about here -

Inside Looking Out

It's still under construction, but if you aren't sure how to make your Friday go faster, it should hopefully help you fill a few minutes.

Marcus, Kelley, and Kamryn

2008-04-15T17:47:00.005-05:00

Only four days before Kamryn graced the world with her presence, I had the extreme pleasure of taking maternity photos for her parents Marcus and Kelley. Here are a few from that day...

If you want to see even more visit my flickr page - www.flickr.com/photos/sharaj

The fun never ends...

2008-04-01T21:16:00.001-05:00

Panera Bread Cashier: (after swiping my credit card) Is it Sharr-uh?
Me: No, Share-uh. It's a tricky one!
Panera Bread Cashier: Oh...like Sara with an "h."
Me: Exactly.
Panera Bread Cashier: Alright, have a good day Miss Sharr-uh.

5 cities in 5 days...

2008-03-26T21:40:00.004-05:00

I'm making a new record for myself this week. Usually I'll spend a few days or a week even in the same area, but this week it's a whole new ballgame. Monday I started off in Dallas, spent Tuesday in Ft. Worth, and most of today in Austin. I got to San Antonio a couple of hours ago, and after lunch tomorrow I'll be headed to Houston. Talk about tiring, but at the same time it's been alot of fun. I spent the first 3 days with one coworker that I've really gotten to know well and consider a close friend, and I'll be wrapping up the week with my newest coworker that I can't wait to get to know even better.

Just to let you know about my afternoon, I should have made it from Austin to San Antonio in about an hour and a half, but it took a whopping 3 hours to get to my hotel because there was some need for emergency road work in one of the lanes right at the exit I needed to take for my hotel. While I was only 12 miles away, it took me 45 minutes to take my exit because of the creeping, crawling traffic. It's bad enough to merge two lanes down to one, but the kicker was a lane was merging from another freeway so we actually had 3 lanes trying to get this accomplished at 5:45. All the while my car notified me that it needed gas, and I was in a huge bind. Thankfully I made it off the freeway safely, but I was amazed at the lack of gas stations in dowtown SA. Apparently the cars around here don't use that stuff. I prayed and panicked and prayed and panicked some more, but I finally saw a station back in a corner that I made it to just in time. The evening took a turn for the better when we went to dinner at my favorite restaurant in this city - La Mi Tierra's...I highly recommend it for the atmosphere, but the food is great too.

Unfortunately while I'm enjoying setting my new record, in the back of my mind I can't help but worry about the 60 squares of St. Augustine grass that I laid out in my front yard not getting enough water before I get back home. Thankfully I've made a friends with my neighborhood postman and he volunteered to water the grass tomorrow so it won't go quite so long without water. Ah, the joys (and worries) of being a home owner! I really need to post before and after pics of my front yard so you can see how I've been spending my weekends this past month, but I also need to post wedding photos that I took in January so we'll so how quickly I get all of that done.

Good Friday

2008-03-21T21:48:00.003-05:00

I always dread going to a service on Good Friday because I know the evening will be heavy and hard-hitting. There's nothing pleasant about the image of Jesus on the cross. But I knew I needed to be there as a reminder of the sacrifice made for me (and all of us). I know this blog is supposed to be about photography, but I haven't had much of that going on the past couple of months so instead I want to share with you (briefly) something that my pastor said that really hit home...

These days - Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are symbols of every part of our life.

We may have Fridays where we are going through experiences that are dim and even tragic. We may have Saturdays where God is silent and we feel so far removed from Him. But the good thing about experiencing Fridays and Saturdays is that we know Sunday is coming.

I have to admit I've had way to many Saturdays lately and most of those are my own fault because I'm selfish and think I can handle life myself, but I know that's not the case. I know my life would be far better if I would get out of the way of what God is trying to do.

Thankfully there are days like these where I can go before God and remember all that has been done on my account (and yours), and while it's heartbreaking to see what little I've done with all I've been given, I know God hasn't given up on me, and he never will. So tonight I told him despite the sin I can't seem to shake and the selfishness that makes me want to stay in it, I would take it day by day and do my best to let him lead the way.

I'm looking forward to Sunday so I can celebrate these words on the day He was risen...

"My chains are gone
I've been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace"

Out of the mouths of babes...

2008-03-18T20:21:00.003-05:00

My 3 1/2 year old nephew rarely fails to entertain me. Here's a few bits of our conversations over the day (misspelled on purpose so you can get a better idea of how he talks which is the most entertaining part):

John: (after John hides behind the curtains) Wook, Share-wa! I missappeared!!
Shara: You disappeared?
John: Yeah, I missappeared. You can't see me.
John: (a few minutes later) Share-wa! I missappeared!!
Shara: (looks at him standing down the hall) Again??
John: Yeah. Wook dat way.
Shara: (looks away from him)
John: Share-wa! I missappeared!

John: Dis my new horse. He's black. I wuv him. He's soft.
Shara: What's his name?
John: *Long pause* Black horse...with white.

John: (after my cat jumps up in my lap) Wook, Shara! Is your cat!
Shara: It is my cat!
John: You gone pet her? You gone pet her?

John: I want ornjuice.
Shara: I don't have any orange juice. Do you want this yellow juice? (shows him Gatorade)
John: Ooooo...I wike it!
Shara: (after he drinks some of it) Do you like the juice?
John: Yeah. I wike dis well-wo drink.

I really will be disappointed when he starts pronouncing words correctly. It won't be nearly as adorable.

Digital Age

2008-03-13T20:51:00.003-05:00

I'm fully aware of my fondness for the television and internet as well as my dependency on a cell phone, but today I realized just how much I've come to love modern technology. My last evening to spend at Starbucks was tonight. I just happened to pick a Starbucks that is so new they've yet to install the T-Mobile HotSpot. So there I was, laptop in hand, but no internet, and to top it off they turned off my cell phone this afternoon at the office because I'll be getting a new one in the morning. After giving it my all for 15 minutes to connect to another wireless internet connection with no success I gave up and realized I would just have to suffer through with no email, no blogging, and no texting. What's a girl to do?? Well, I decided to kick it old school and grabbed my book that I keep in my bag. There's a novel idea...sitting at Starbucks with a nice beverage, cool tunes over the speakers, and a good read like a few others I saw this evening. I actually entertained the notion of doing this more often until I realized I can just continue to read at home and save $4 plus the cost of gas.

Needless to say, I survived the evening, and while you would think that this incident would cause me to rethink my priorities and ween myself off of all things digital, here I sit with the tv on blogging away. Now if you'll excuse me, LA Ink is starting and I think it's going to be pretty entertaining.

Tony & Tina

2008-03-12T16:33:00.004-05:00

This weekend I attended a wedding along with some great friends to celebrate my birthday a little late. I didn't have to be the wedding photographer, but I sure did bring my little digital camera along that always seems to be in my purse. I can't resist taking photos whether I'm being paid to or not! While Tony and Tina and their families aren't really our friends, by the end of the night we felt like they were. If you ever get the chance to go to their wedding when it comes to a town near you or if you go to where they are, I highly recommend it. Now some of these were taken by the photographer who was also part of the show, but he should have copyrighted them if he didn't want me to take them :)

Neighborhood Store

2008-03-11T17:11:00.002-05:00

Never did I expect to find myself moving back to the town I group up in. It changed so much over the years from about 15,000 people when I moved here with my family at the age of 3 to a whopping 125,000 today. There's still a part of the city that reminds me of what I grew up so that's exactly where I chose to purchase my first home. 2 miles away is the locally operated Brookshire's. The prices may be higher and the selection may not be as great as the Super chains, but today I was reminded of why I like to shop there apart from the cashiers and managers greeting you as you walk in and it not even being a question as to whether your groceries will be taken to your car and unloaded for you. There's an employee there by the name of Steve. Steve is probably in his late 30s and been a bagger at the store for years. He's developmentally delayed, but despite that minor setback as I picked up a few things this afternoon I noticed Steve wasn't at the end of the counter bagging, he was at the cashier stand waiting on customers. Steve doesn't really know who I am other than saying hello to me on occasion when I walk in or helping me out with my groceries, but I was so proud of him, and I was so impressed with Brookshire's for giving him a shot at something new and more challenging for him. I think I'll be even more loyal from here on out.

Scenes from a Starbucks

2008-03-10T18:00:00.004-05:00

My day job has me spending the evening at a Starbucks in the event any students in the area want to swing by and chat with me.

In the past hour I've witnessed:

Two women enjoying coffee. Nothing out of the norm except for one of them who was sporting a coach handbag and matching (I can only describe them as) galoshes. She also managed to pair those with skinny jeans that are all the rage for those who shop in the "juniors" section and a large white (did I mention large) merchant cap. Oh goodness!! Where are the "What Not to Wear" dynamic duo?

For the entire time I have been here I've also been able to watch a couple in the parking lot having words while leaning against their own vehicles. Things were tense and there were long periods of silence, but finally when I was thinking this relationship might not make it through the night, she leaned forward and shook him in an playful expression of her aggravation. Hugs and giggling soon followed and the two hugged it out for a good 10 min. I wonder if they ever thought about someone watching this entire scene...at any rate, the two just pulled away in their own vehicles as I typed this. Hopefully those two will stick it out.

Now for the good news...The barista seems to love me, but that love has caused her to feel quite sorry for me that I haven't had any students drop in! I mentioned who I work for and she immediately went on and on about how she's from that area and so glad I'm here. I tried to explain that these things are hit or miss so I never come in with much expectations. Possibly out of that pity she felt or just because she's a nice person, she did manage to give me the hookup on a little tasting of some African coffee. I'm not a fan...at all! For me to enjoy coffee, it really needs to taste like dessert, and this tastes like, well, coffee. I also got a small piece of lemon pound cake that's supposed to bring out the flavor of the Africa coffee, but for me it only managed to make the pound cake taste the way lemon scented pine sol smells. I decided to finish the pound cake free of the coffee and it was far better. I think I'll stick to my Cinnamon Dulce Latte that my employer just paid for.

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into my judgmental, people-watching, free loader personality. I promise there are some positives in my character, but sometimes they're a little overshadowed. I need to finish this up so I can get back to observing the training session between the store owner and a new barista. Exciting stuff!!

Just to give you something to look forward to, I will be at 3 more Starbucks this week so get ready for the first and possibly only time where I blog more than once a week. I know, I know, I'm too good to you, aren't I?

David & Nandra

2008-03-06T19:28:00.007-06:00

I met Nandra 8 years ago when we were pledging the same sorority. Since she just had to delete her MySpace account I hadn't spoken to her in over a year. Out of the blue I got an email from her telling me she ran into another one of our sorority sisters at the store, and the two started talking about her upcoming wedding. Beth suggested Nandra look at my work and use me for their wedding. Well thank you Beth!!!! I am always so impressed when friends recommend me to others. It's a huge compliment to me that they would ever do that. I had a blast at David and Nandra's wedding. They're both laid back which made their engagement photos (and wedding) a breeze shoot. These are long overdo, but I wanted to get them on here before I post the wedding photos...

I tend to favor portraits in black&white because it simplifies the background and makes the subjects really stand out, but I was much happier with this session in color.

This might just be my favorite of theirs, and possibly one of my favorites I've shot to date. That's probably why it graces my blog header.

Sometimes its hard to get couples to laugh on command, but these two were cracking me up. Every time I told them to make each other laugh, a second after looking at each other they would just start giggling like crazy. Made my job easier!!

Now I realize its subtle, but did you notice my new logo? After spending 3 hours too many getting it the way I wanted it, I sure hope its noticeable, and I hope you like it. I'm sure you'll see a few more logos in the future, but for now since I love stars and I've recently become obsessed with green this does the trick!

Lucky 7

2008-02-28T18:23:00.007-06:00

I'm flu-ish! My mind is racing out of boredom from sitting at home for the past 3 days, but my body feels like I just finished a marathon so this is a way I can sit, but still kind of put my brain to use...

here are the rules :

1. List 7 random things about yourself that people may not know.

2. Link the person who sent this to you, and leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours.

3. Post the rules on your blog.

4. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, linking their blog. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. I'm not good at remembering to accessorize so I tend to trade off between a few different pairs of earrings and necklaces. Now here's the creepy part...I've gotten to where I really prefer this because if anything were to happen to me where I needed to be identified (like in the morgue, I know it's gross!) by a family member or close friend they would recognize my jewelry for sure and know it was me.

2. The thought of going to the movies by myself is not a fun one. I finally conquered eating in a restaurant by myself so I've been trying to make myself go to a move alone at least once during the past couple of years, but it's not happening. Hopefully one of these days I can suck it up and go!

3. I absolutely love music, but I'm not very strong in my auditory skills so I'm always getting the lyrics wrong!

4. I'm really into gift giving. It's actually my "love language" so it pains me to give people gift cards. The thought and time put into the gift is what's so important to me, and gift cards just don't seem to show much in my opinion. I've finally gotten to where I'm okay with receiving them which has really helped out my family the last few years.

5. I had to parallel park with two other guys during drivers-ed. I didn't make it on my practice round so during the real test the guys and our teacher bet that I wouldn't be able to do it. Turned out I was the only one of us three to parallel park on my own on the first try - HA!

6. In 1st grade after the balloon launch at my school, mine was the only one found, and it was found by a woman in Paris...Texas. I won $10 but my mom took it because I blew all the money she gave me for a day at Six Flags the weekend before. Bummer!

7. I've become a reality tv junkie! I'm not talking about lame shows like Survivor or Big Brother, I'm talking much more respectable shows like The Hills, Rob & Big, LA Ink, and The Girls Next Door. There's just something about watching real peoples lives that fascinates me even though I'm aware that the first two I mentioned are definitely rigged in certain ways.

I'm supposed to tag people, but I'll just forgo that part since my body is ready for me to call it a night.

Happy (Belated) Birthday to me!

2008-02-21T20:04:00.004-06:00

Yes, I did have a birthday, and my first two days as a 27 year old have been fantastic! One of the highlights so far was a little surprise left on my doorstep yesterday morning. I was trying to think of who might have sent it to my, and it turned out it came from 5 great women. I have incredible coworkers, and I'm not just saying that because one of them reads this blog. Does it get any better than a cookie bouquet?? I think not! Especially when said cookies are as cute as this:

Dancing with myself

2008-02-18T13:47:00.003-06:00

Thanks to my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, I now have a new way to waste hours of my time all while getting a little exercise in.

Oh yes, I will soon be a Dance Dance Revolution pro, and I'm determined to practice enough so that on my return trip to Dave & Buster's I can blow away all the competition on their machine. Until then, I figure this is going to be a great addition to my already fantastic slumber parties.

J Valentino

2008-02-14T08:27:00.004-06:00

In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided to go three years back to a time when my nephew was much more willing to let me take photos of him and even let his mom put bright red lipstick on his cheek for his first Valentine Photo Shoot. Unfortunately it was also the last, but I'm thinking in a few more years he'll be more willing to sit still for a few minutes at a time.

Happy Valentine's Day!!! I hope you're surrounded with people you love today, or at least like alot!

It's in the details...

2008-02-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

I always make sure I have enough time to hang out in the bridal room before the wedding. The "getting ready" moments are by far my favorite during the day, but right behind that is being able to capture all the details that are difficult to remember years down the line. Here's a few of the details from Drew and Amanda Moilan's wedding I had the privilege of shooting at the end of December.

Peer Pressure

2008-02-11T15:39:00.000-06:00

Apparently the latest fad for photographers is to get a blog going with photos of their recent shoots and a few entries on their personal lives. While I prefer not to jump on any bandwagons, I'm jumping on this one to push my future career a little closer to being a reality and maybe, just maybe, to try to be a little more hip. Oh, and also to let my new coworker (and friend, I hope) have one more blog to add to her list.

I'm going to be straight-up...I'm horrible at keeping up with things like journals so I know this blog will not be updated like it should, and not just because I don't have any upcoming shoots scheduled for awhile. Hey, I've at least got one entry down. That's a start, right?!? For those of you faithful few willing to stick with me after months of nothingness, I want to go ahead and thank you now.