Becoming a Senior Rep for Photogenique Photography

So Here's The Gist:

Photogenique Photography  is on the hunt for high school Seniors with a uniquely defined style, and who have wonderfully unique personalities to serve as 2015-2016 Senior Representatives.  Being a representative for this business means you will leave with phenomenal images and leave with tons of cool bonuses if you put in just a little effort and share your smile!  We are excited about you showing off your session photos to your friends, family, and peers! 

For those of you who are thinking "Shoot. I shouldn't even apply because I probably won't fit the typical LOOK they are going for" --STOP IT RIGHT NOW! :) Seriously, don't sweat it. Whether you've has any previous model experience or whether or not you look like who you see in the magazines or even those who walk the same school halls as you is NOT what matters most to us. We look at who you are as a person, what kinds of things you are involved in, and your hunger to be a part of what we're offering here.  Keep this is mind when filling out your application: The more open and honest you are, and the more you share, the better! [no novels though, please...That's already been done by J.K Rowling)]

Below are some things we'd like to highlight that we believe are what help mold 
a WORLD CLASS Senior Rep!

• A high level of enthusiasm about having a Senior Rep Session that is true to who you are and is a blast to be a part of!
• A personality that says "I am open, honest, friendly, and most of all GENUINE."
• Loves to enjoy themselves and is ready for anything when it comes to getting the perfect shot on our cameras. :)
• Has one or more avenues with which to share their portraits with seniors they may or may not know (If you need help figuring out what that is, we won't leave you hangin! We are here to be as helpful as possible. Don't freak out!)
• Wants to earn amazing rewards for referring friends and classmates to Photogenique Photography.

Wanna see the rewards? Visit this link: http://explorephotogenique.blogspot.com/2014/05/our-brand-new-senior-advocates-modeling.html

Thanks a MILLION for choosing us to be your Senior Portrait Photographers. We are so stoked to have you as a member on our team, and we can’t wait to start pumpin' out some ridiculously gorgeous photos A.S.A.P! Looking forward to meeting you and sharing in this beautiful journey called LIFE, together. 

Make sure you have filled out our application (link on our Facebook page!) please! 
You'll be hearing from us soon! :D

Our Senior Advocates Modeling Program + REWARDS!

Are you a junior in high school who desires top-of-the-line photography at a low cost, with great benefits? If so, SWEET! You've come to the right people! We are currently looking for at least 10 superb seniors that we can count on to be just as excited as we are about life and about photos, so they can help promote what we do at their high schools. :)

What does this entail?

Being a Senior Advocate means that you literally speak up for what you know is quality work, so that others can have it too, and you watch as what you say quickly blesses others and in turn, leaves you being more and more blessed as each person comes to find out about our business! All you gotta do is be willing to say "LOOK!" and flash your amazing face at people :) High schoolers are already experts at that, right? So it's super simple! We will give you digital referral cards, and with each referral you earn incredible rewards!

How much will my Senior Photo Session Cost?

Your session only costs you a GRAND TOTAL of $99

On top of that fabulous price, benefits for Senior Representatives include…

• A fabulous Senior Photo Session, which you pay for - In addition to your "Way to Represent" which you get for FREE! We will photograph all of your images to show off to your classmates!  We will pick an awesome location, you will bring some fashionably fun outfits, and together, we will create an end product that people scrolling down Pinterest and Facebook would SWOON just glancing at! 
• After your session you will receive personalized social media ads for displaying your images to text, tweet, tag and post to your friends and classmates. Post them on your Facebook wall. And on the wooden light posts downtown. And maybe even on the "Most Wanted" wall at the police station--because, trust us-- people are going to WANT to know who did your photos so they can gain some amazing benefits themselves!
• For every Class of 2015 Senior who mentions your name while reserving their session, you will receive a $10 gift card of your choice. These may include (but not be limited to) the following places! 

•  In addition to the great $10 gift cards, take a look at these other items you can earn as you gain more spending points toward various model rewards!

As if that wasn't enough...You ALSO receive:

• a shoot in the Spring/Summer AND one in the Fall!
• Personalized Ads featuring your model images for your Facebook or other social media accounts.
• a Senior Announcement Card/Grad invitation design 
• FREE print release form, signed by yours truly (Nate & Kristiana), which you can take anywhere to get your photos printed
• A private online gallery of gradually-added images for you to preview before we get the hard copies to you on a disc within 5 weeks of your photo shoot! 

Tip from your photographers!!

Place a preview of a watermarked photo from your session as your profile picture for a while to promote us and leave it in your album until graduation in 2015! This will maximize your impact and spread the word the fastest without you having to do anything but push the "upload" button.

The Magnificent Megan

We're a little late in posting about Miss Megan Mitchell, but she definitely deserves a blog post! So here goes...

We asked Megan some questions that will be throughout this post with her answers, helping you to get to know the fun-loving actress and [hopefully] future missionary that we have come to know and love!

Enjoy the beautiful-ness!

Our Question Was: "What do you want to do with your life (dreams, goals, passions)?"

Her Answer: "In my life I want to do theater. I want to somehow be a cog in creating a vessel of communication where you don't need to be able to read, hear or even see to be touched by a performance. I want to create art that inspires people to love, appreciate, understand and laugh at the world around them. However, I want to honor God the entire time and readily change whatever direction I'm in for Him. I want to do some sort of missions at some point, and to be spontaneous and go to Europe and to embrace my own artistic style and to meet new people and have them meet me."

Our Question Was: "How do you think we have done at reflecting your personality through the photos that you've seen?"

Her Answer: "I think Photogenique Photography has done a great job at displaying my personality. I'm slightly crazy, and I felt the photos represented my need for fun. I found it really easy to express my ideas and opinions during and after the photo shoot- and before if I had thought of any."

Our Question Was: "What/who inspires you the most in life?"

Her Answer:  "One of the people who inspires me is Kristiana Looney, because she's pretty and smart and artsy and kind and a very talented photographer!"

Our Response To That (of course): "Aww, shucks!!"

Our Question: "Would you rather go to the theatre or a movie? Why?"

Her Answer: "I would rather go to the theater because you experience theater, but you watch a movie. It's like the difference between living and existing, you need a little lack of fourth wall in your life sometimes."

 And last but not least...

Our Question Was: "How would you describe your experience with Photogenique Photography?"

Her Answer: "I would describe my experience with Photogenique Photography as fun, spontaneous and comfortable. We made new friends with Twinsies Coffee & Cupcakes, which I never would have done had I not gone on my senior photo adventure with Photogenique. I really liked the colors, light and myself in the pictures."

So there you have it, folks! Straight from the horse's --er-- the MEGAN'S mouth! ;)

Message us today to book your shoot!

~Kristiana and Nathan

Email: photogenique@comcast.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhotogeniquePhoto?ref=br_rs

Sam + Autumn

Our experience with Sam and Autumn Anderson was one that we'll fondly remember from now until the ends of the age. :) It happened that a group of girls was in the same car, rollin' through the drive-through of the Starbucks that Nathan works at. He asked the usual question: "What are you ladies up to today?" --Her soon-to-be sis-in-law, Ryanne, pointed to the back and announced that "this one" in the back was getting married! Nathan, being the opportunist that he is, asked who they had planned on to do their photography. Turns out, there wasn't a plan in motion yet, so Nathan gave them our card and sent them on our way. Wonderfully enough, they booked with us almost immediately and we were able to bless the family, as well as leave more blessed than we could have expected! We also made great connections and even better friends. :)

After all, that's what the photo business is all about...loving people and making new friends each time.

Throughout sharing these photos, we'll go over some fun facts we've learned about the couple and hopefully you will leave this post feeling like you know them a little better too!

Fact #1: Autumn adores pink. :)

She is also a purist when it comes to tea.

And we mean PURE. No sugar, no honey, no nada.

Just tea. ;)

Fact #2: Upon getting her dress on, Autumn frantically fluffed it up and down in the air 

and quoted Dispicable Me in saying "It's [seriously] sooooo fluffy!"

Fact #3: These kids have a genuine love. :) Autumn even bought Sam a 

pair of cowboy boots to wear on the wedding day. Way cool!

Fact #4: The bride and groom scored their wedding venue {Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum} just 3 weeks before the wedding! And it came with super awesome tanks and jets on site!

Fact #5: Sam is hardcore. So hard core, even, that he researches on Wikepedia intensely as a hobby!

Fact #6: Two of Autumn's bridesmaids are besties and have the last names "Bacon" and "Rice". 

They eat it for breakfast pretty much regularly when together!

Fact #7: Sam is actually loyal. This is a staged photo above. We swear! Haha ;) 

Fact #8: His eyes lit up when he saw her in that dress walkin' down the sidewalk toward him!

Fact #9: Both Autumn and Sam have a passion for music and are in love with The Beatles in particular. For their first dance as a married couple, the pair danced to the group's famous song, "Eight Days a Week". All the music played at their wedding and reception was from before the 70's! So sweet!

Fact #10: The entire wedding party (especially the bride and groom) know how to have fun and a good time! We enjoyed participating in laughter after many a pun and several witty comments! What a blast getting to hang out with such a great group of people! 

Thank you, everyone!

"The New Normal"

Everyone is getting into modern technology...it seems the deeper we dive as a society, the more items are discovered and tweaked in order to please us. I (Kristiana) remember how easily-pleasable I was when I was a kid. I had my little Kodak disposable cameras and I went wherever and got horribly-wonderful pictures to remember my memories by, and that was "the life".

Now-a-days, however, we have stuff like this...

And on the other end of the spectrum...stuff like this:

So no matter how giant or small your lens is, people everywhere are getting photos. But the reason behind those photos has dwindled. There used to be very few photos taken of one's family, once upon a time. There was maybe 2 pictures taken of a family in the whole span of their lifetime together. Now, a mom has 10 bajillion photos of her children. But she doesn't spend as much real time with them. 

One of our favorite things about photographing people is our ability to set the camera down for a while and enjoy life with people. We ask what they're really into. We come to a birthday party wanting to enjoy ourselves as much as the next person, and not coming wanting to be just "the cameras" and hide behind our lenses. 

I propose that "The New Normal" be about people. Photographing should be balanced. Next time you feel like getting a photo of a friend or family member, ask if you can join in and be a part of it. :) 

Because a memory will fade, but a picture lasts forever.

At Photogenique Photography, we're about valuing people, and helping you shine. And we're growing in our "new normal" daily alongside you. 

Join us! 

Kristiana & Nathan Looney

Photogenique's First-Ever "Free Photo Shoot" Drawing!

Nathan and I were thinking of ways to get the word out about our photo business, expand our portfolio, and bless people, when--LIGHTBULB!!--Nathan got it!

"Why don't we have some sort of a contest?" said he.
"What sort of a contest?" said I.
"Like a drawing or something." said Nathan.

...and so...the idea was born. And the prize is worth at least a Benjamin Franklin and THEN SOME! Odds are, if you've gotten this far, you've heard the news and are at least remotely interested. And we're SO glad that you are! 


But before all the excitement...please read over the guidelines:

Disclaimer: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. You are providing your information to Kristiana and Nathan Looney and not to Facebook. The information you provide will only be used for inspirational benefit.

1) All entrants to this drawing may not be staff, sponsors or associated with in any way to Facebook.

2) This drawing is limited in that the photo shoot may contain ONLY between 1 and 6 persons. 


3) Participants must be willing to travel to within the Salem-Keizer boundaries for their photo shoot in the event that they win the drawing.


4) The drawing will remain open throughout the entire month of July. The last date for entry will be July 31st and the winner will be decided at random and be announced on our blog. We will also contact the winner in a private message via Facebook. 


Instructions are on our Facebook page! :)

Photogenique's Fabulous Updates! :)

Ahh, Photogenique family...it has been much too long since I wrote!!

I have been posting the majority of exciting moments happening with my business on Facebook, but I'll go over a few of the highlights for those who may have missed out:

*NEW website design! I feel this design really reflects me as a person, and my style. I hope you all love it as much as I do! http://photogeniquegirl.wix.com/photogenique-girl

I'm hoping to purchase my own internet domain soon; preferably NON-flash website so all you lucky ducks with cooler gadgets than I have (insert "i-device" here) can access it from anywhere! Will update you all on that when it happens!

*Customized Senior Announcements/Grad Invitations are included FREE with every senior photo package! I am super stoked about this, as I love seniors, and I want to reflect them more by going above and beyond the photos themselves!

*Consultations --I was recently blessed to be able to meet with a fellow photographer and leader in my life, Bethany Shelton. She ran her own business for a while, called "Good Soil Photography", and gleaned a lot from that experience, which she was kind enough to share with me! I learned all kinds of NUGGETS that I have been determined to work into my way of doing business, one by one.

One such nugget was meeting potential clients for a consultation before every shoot. This helps me get to know YOU, your likes, your dislikes, and what YOU expect your photos to display.

You see? --It's all about YOU...not Photogenique. I have found that once I dedicate specific time to listen to people and what they have to say, my business is improved, new friendships are created, and stress is dissolved on both ends. It's a win-win. :)

*Welcome Packets --one thing that goes along with every consultation is a Welcome Packet. These are still in the workings, but I think I've got the basics down...seeing as a packet even exists now. I CANNOT EVEN SAY how much these packets bring to the table! Tips for prepping before a shoot --Contract --Print Release --a personal letter from me to you...and more!

I am excited to share these things with you and to invite you to be a part of my photo journey! To find out more, message me on my personal facebook account {https://www.facebook.com/kristiana.looney?ref=tn_tnmn} or send an email to photogenique@comcast.net

Thanks!

- Kristiana
[owner of Photogenique]

A Golden December Wedding

For those of you who have awaited this post with bated breath (mostly Haley :])...you can let go now. The reveal of the photos from the McLoughlin-Jalinski wedding is about to happen!

BUT WAIT!...first...did you see the engagement photos? Well, if not, look there first, because there is a sweet tale of love involved that I guarantee one and all would enjoy: http://explorephotogenique.blogspot.com/2011/04/haley-kevin-match-made-in-heaven.html

Now that you have seen...feast your eyes on THESE pictures, taken December 10th, 2011!

One thing I really appreciated about Haley and Kevin's big day is that they took time to have a First Look. Some couples choose to do it, and others don't. But all in all, I think it helped calm nerves for both Haley and her husband-to-be. We got some great photos out of it, and you can see the love and admiration in their eyes. Here is a look at the First Look.

 

 

...And the ceremony begins!

The ceremony was sweet and beautiful. The couple was serenaded by sweet guitar tunes as their friend played.
 

I love seeing how happy her Dad was at giving his beautiful daughter away. It was so sweet. If he did cry at all, they were solely happy tears.
  

This picture of Kevin's mom, Misty, is priceless. She looked on during the ceremony, eyes glued to the stage as Haley and Kevin were united even further, piece by precious piece.

Actually I loved seeing how ALL the family reacted to the union. There was such a glow on everyone's face, such as in this shot captured of Haley's Grandpa.

And then...those famous words: "You may kiss your bride".

Really, Haley and Kevin...your kiss couldn't have been more beautiful. 

I took a short video of Haley's excitement after all was said and done. She was simply relieved that the most important part was over! :) No more worries! Here's the clip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYIYxcHgi5w

After that, they all were escorted off to the reception. I'm not going to share all of it...but there were some favorite moments and people that just HAD to be captured. Take miss Kayla, for example:

...Never had I seen someone so excited over a sandwich walking by.

Here are some other pictures you might enjoy from the afternoon:

Evan, bringing bread to tables during the set-up window of time

Aaron, Kevin and Haley's roommate and the sound man at the wedding

And then there was cake!

...And drinks to be had!

 Check out these adorable wooden coasters as decor!

 And an elegant spread of vinegar and oil sat by candle light on each table...

 

Once the documents had been signed, it was only a matter of time before the couple was sent off on their honeymoon in Mexico!

The groomsmen (including the best man, featured above) had a great time blowing bubbles, even before the send-off!

Thank you, Haley and Kevin, for allowing Photogenique to share in the day's events. I can hardly wait for what's to come!

Blessings! - Kristiana Kephart (owner & photographer)

Photogenique Photography