Thank You

Hi Everybody!

I've been spending a good part of 2009 working on a whole new, better-than-ever website with updated images and design with my web designer and friend, Ron Ford of Webvisuals. I can't WAIT for the new site to go live and give birth to the next era of Julie Watts Photo. My evolution has been in large part to my business coach, Karen Buckley of the Wisdom Connection. I have been doing some intense work and I feel like I've learned years worth of information in a very short time... and I want to take this opportunity to say "Thank You" to everyone on the team, Sonny at Asabooks, Hannah my assistant (and one of my closest friends ever), my family for believing in me, Wendy & Seth for their friendship, my photographer friends (gosh--too many to list), Me Ra Koh especially...your vision and bravery leave me speechless, and especially my beloved clients and brides. Yes you are all still "my brides" to me and always will be. I feel like an honorary member of so many of your families! I am honored and stoked beyond belief to be a part of your lives!


...so as I wait in limbo between the old website and the new, I'm going to be moving the thank yous I've received to the blog. No matter WHAT you do for a living, take the time to reread the positive responses you've received. Without further ado:

"Thank you so much for the amazing pictures. Everyone has said how beautiful they are. A few have said that they even cried all over again. Your sooo amazing and we look forward to seeing you soon."-- The Taylors


(OMG did you read that last part?! How funny is that!? Don't worry, the groomsmen and I got along famously...lol)

"Julie, Thank you so much for coming to our wedding and being our rockstar photographer! Not only did you take the most amazing beautiful pictures (everyone loves them!) but you also helped me keep my head on my shoulders. I would have been a mess without you! You are so talented and an amazing artist! If you and your family ever want a Montana vacation, you are always welcome to our home! We love you, Celeste & Ryan Johnston"

If you are loving the love-fest, go ahead and click here to check out 29 more reviews submitted to King 5's Best of Western Washington Contest!

Thank You All!!!!

Stacy & Mark Engagement!

Not a typical engagement picture?

Well if an engagement shoot is defined as a casual photoshoot of a couple in love, relaxed and playful, and totally comfortable being themselves, then what's not to love about some playful sparring?

Especially when Mark, one of our honored servicemen, falls in love with Stacy, a captivating Emergency Responder-type. Sparks and sparring flew...........

We had a great time trekking Snoqualmie Falls and stopping occasionally to take some pictures!

I had the pleasure of shooting Stacy & Mark's Olympia wedding just two weeks later. They planned the wedding in just a couple of short months...Mark is going to serve in Afghanistan and well, he popped the question over the phone when he realized he just didn't want to wait until he got back. Awwww.....

Cold hand on the back! Cold hand on the back!

"You coming up here with me?"

Next up will be my FAVORITE shots from Stacy & Mark's Memorial Day weekend wedding in Olympia! Stay tuned! I've got another great senior to tell you about and an update on baby Vienna's first year...

Stacy

Senior-Lauren O!

Hi There Julie Watts Photo Blogillicious Readers!

Meet Lauren O. This fiery senior was a blast to shoot (Her career interest is Culinary Arts). This was one of the rare times I decided to shoot a senior in my studio...



. . .because for me, the variety/spontaneousness of location shooting will always tickle that place in my heart that remembers being a young stay-at-home mom 10 years ago. . .I was a person that felt the burning desire for photography so intensely that nothing derailed my drive. I am so thankful I had that start; shooting with a consumer camera on auto, lamps in the house laid on the side, and big skirts thumbtacked to the wall as a backdrop for my rolly polly 10 month old. That was spring of 2000, and there's something so peaceful and settling about looking back and remembering that for the past 10 years, I never gave up on my dream. I didn't give in to the worry that raced through my mind many, many times. There were SO many aspects to consider, so much experience to be gained before I could truly speak with authority and confidence about anything photography-related.

Happiness in life really is about honoring Each Day of the life's journey...not criticizing how steep the road is, how long it's taking you, how you're not outfitted with the proper metaphorical "gear."

The journey REVEALS what's most important to you in life. Clearing out everything else actually brings you closer being the best you can possibly be. I love seniors because they are at a monumental time of transition...a beginning of a new journey that THEY design themselves, that will have twists and turns and ups and downs. But as long as they follow their passion and listen to their gut, they'll see exactly what I'm talking about...

A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Lauren on graduating! Follow you passion, enjoy the climb!

Sweet Pleasures, Mother & Daughter

Hi Everybody! Hey guess what? I'm almost all the way caught up on blogging...I've got some '09 seniors to show you, two more weddings from the past TWO WEEKS I'm finishing up, but for now, I'd love to show you the lovely, the talented, mother and daughter duo, Shannon & Taylee.


Taylee struck me with her poise. I love her soft smile in this one...

Ohhh...the stuff of life. We've brushed hair/been brushed a thousand times as girls and women...we've said "Ouch!" and we've said "Sorry, I'll try to be gentle but you've got a knot." We've whined hoping it'd get over with, and we've left the braid not QUITE even 'cause we know we've got to pick our battles...okay so maybe when I say "we" I really mean "me", but chances are 50% percent of the population has been on one end or another of this process. That's why it's so fun to get shots of these "ordinary" moments...because so many memories are brought back when you see them...because you've never really seen yourselves from this perspective...kudos to all you mom's out there! You too, Shannon. You are one heck of a mom.

So, after I grabbed that, I looked down. It was just too perfect:

Here's some more favorites:

Next, we ran over to my studio in Edgewood to get a few more formal, black on black portraits...

I just love how their mother-daughter bond shows through...

I always have a great time on my shoots, but mother/daughter shoots are close to my heart!! My daughter is 6...about time for ME to get a shoot done like this with MY daughter, don't you think?

Live in the Question

Hey There People!

In the spirit of catching up on blogging, I bring you these studio shots of professional bellydancer/instructor, Malia, one of my favorite clients ever 'cause we always have so much fun and try to go somewhere different creatively with each shoot we do together. She performs regularly around the Sound and her website is here. Yes of course those are my images on the website, even the sillouette one with the sword!!

The studio itself is a completely different environment than shooting on location. You have control and responsibility for choosing lighting, the setting, etc. It uses a totally different part of my brain than when I'm doing say, a senior shoot outdoors and the responsibility is on identifying where the great little spots are and making creative decisions quickly based on the light Mother Nature set up for me. In the studio, it's quiet.... time stops....I have to plan. I need inspiration and one person that always inspires me is Malia.

What I like most about repeat clients is that we really get into a GROOVE! Now we totally know each other and it's a perfect environment to experiment and goof off. Sometimes in life, I feel like there's too much pressure to KNOW everything. My business coaches, Karen Buckley & Fay Freed, have introduced me to so many awesome ideas, but the one I love right now is the idea of "living in the question." Instead of going on auto-pilot and worrying about a decision to make, I can choose to relax and be comfortable "living in the question" and letting the answer rise to the surface of my thoughts instead of trying to force it.

So even though I didn't know it at the time, that's what I was doing with Malia last fall. Living in the Question. "Why don't we try this?"

"Okay, now, what would happen if we did that?"

"What if we changed this?"

"What if we did that?"

I really get a lot out of collaborating with existing clients on photo projects, especially when it's a concept shoot like with Nicole & Dan's studio Engagement session, all crazy and whatnot. It really gives my brain somewhere foreign and new to explore and discover. And I LOVE that.

Aliya & Billy's Canal Wedding

Hi Everybody! I'm so excited to show you Aliya & Billy's wedding images. I'm also excited to figure out how to get my Twitter posts on the blog since I've just started a fun summer goal; unicycling! But I digress...let's check out this rad wedding...

Aliya, such a graceful bride...Billy, such an upbeat force to be reckoned with!

Nothings much cuter than chilly bridesmaids huddling while the guys get their photo-op.

Aliya showing a peek of her lipstick red peekaboo toe pumps! LOVE that.

Billy's captivating bride....

The vintage flare.

The sunlight flare.

What a great wedding party to photograph!

Best friends......together

Sometimes a guy needs a hand...or two...or...ha ha

I love the lucky horseshoe ring, Chris J.

Waiting men...

Sometimes images just GET you, and you could look at one a thousand times and never get tired of it. This one does it for me. Aliya's graceful strut and head-turn just kill me. Her girls. Her groom. And her mom in the background with folded hands watching her baby-turned-bride. Sigh...I think I need this on my wall in my office so I get to look at it all the time.




Chris J, shown here next to Billy, is a CUSTOM MADE THE SUITS! You simply have to check out his ultracool website, www.likearockstar.com . You WON'T be disappointed, and you just might leave with an order for your own custom-made clothing. You've been warned.

Aliya's wedding ceremony entrance...glorious The Canal in Ballard is a fantastic venue with some of the most SCRUMPTIOUS food I've ever eaten.

Emotions rolled through the room during their ceremony. But they started with Billy. :)

I'm sure it's the surest thing she ever did......loving him.

The Mr. & The Mrs.

Among the family shots, this one with dad and bro...

Spontaneous Dual Parental Affection.

The Ethereal Bride

Tender kiss for grandma

These little darlings rocked the dance floor like nobody's business. Twirls, knee slides, and general booty shakin'...just adorable.

This one cracks me up, too...love the juxtaposition of emotions!

Aliya & Billy, it was such a privilege to be a part of your wedding day! There entire wedding day slideshow is here.

Janelle & Jonathan-Engaged!

I'm so excited for Janelle & Jonathan's wedding this coming May! We just finished up talking about the timeline of their day, so I thought it would be a great time to show you some images from their engagement shoot back in the fall...

Jonathan is the Youth Pastor at St. Louise Catholic Church in Bellevue!

Check out the golden glow of the sanctuary...in just a few short weeks I'll have some very different shots of them in here!

I had so much fun with you guys that day...looking forward to getting together again to shoot your wedding!

OSP-W "Group Shooting is Unnatural!"

Hi Everybody!

This past weekend I attended a photography conference in Seattle, OSP-W (Open Source Photo-West). It was great to see so many familiar faces in the crowd and some wonderful speakers flew in for the event. Overall I had a fantastic time and really learned a lot of "cool stuff" that I am going to spend some time processing in my brain and applying to my business. One of my favorite speakers was Kevin Swan, "Luxury Wedding Photographer" and co-founder of Kiss Wedding Albums. Random side note: Kevin Swan reminds me a TON of my older brother, John. You can just "see" the gears turning in his head as he thinks. He has a background in advertising & marketing and cuts right to the chase on a variety of topics. Simple is his thing. Don't believe me? His website which I linked to above has a SINGLE page. I was fortunate to be one of a handful of photogs who went to dinner with Kevin, Mike Larson, Shawn Austin, & Nathan Holritz after their Get Simple Seminar on Friday.

Inbetwixt the great speakers this weekend, were scheduled "Group Shoots." One or two experienced or well-known photographers would "Lead" the shoot, and the group would trounce around Seattle with a gorgeous, well moving bride model, (or engaged couple, senior, etc). Group shoots are a good opportunity to learn new techniques in shooting or posing, or shoot in locations or situations you've never encountered yet, with no pressure to produce any particular final product. Group shoots are a time to experiment, and for new shooters, it's an opportunity to build your portfolio with shots from the Group Shoot. However, personally, I usually don't like group shoots. Here's one of my favs from the Group Shoot.

I have even developed one personal motto regarding Group Shoots.

GROUP SHOOTING IS UNNATURAL!

Sure, it is possible to grab beautiful shots like this fashion-y one above of our model, Brittany, but want to see what the reality was like?

See all those photographers down there? That's what it's like! You can't really get JUST where you want to be, it's difficult to give the bride direction, and it's just too darn easy to start feelin' like Paparazzi and getting elbows and lenses in your shots! Not to mention, there's 25 other people out there with nearly identical images of the identical bride!

Luckily, I was in a great group of photographers, many of whom I already knew, so it was fun to talk and laugh as we leaned over each other, walked in front of each others shots, and generally enjoyed being together on a beautiful Seattle day with friends and mutual interests. I actually hadn't signed up for any group shoot but the schedule of events rearrangd a bit and I found myself on one anyway. I only had my 50mm 1.4 and my fisheye lens with me (my most portable lenses) which are coincidentally the WORST lenses for a group shoot! lol Luckily, I love challenges so grabbed what I could with the 50mm and enjoyed separating from the pack and documenting the experience from the outside with the fisheye. Sharing this perspective with you guys is way more fun than showing a couple shots and having to explain the nutty circumstances! A picture really does say a thousand words!